


Much Ado about Loki

by CanterburyTales



Series: Adoverse [3]
Category: Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Asgard, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Feels, Clint Has Issues, Do NOT mess with Jane, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Erik Selvig is Dad, F/M, Gratuitous Philosophy, Had to be done, Implied Sexual Content, Kneel!, Lady Loki, Loki Has Issues, Loki Redemption, Mild Language, Nancy Drew Investigates, Natasha Gets Things Done, Protective Pepper, That's no tree that's my brother, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-28 05:28:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanterburyTales/pseuds/CanterburyTales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane and Erik are so used to Loki and Darcy's constant bickering, they ignore it. Tony, on the other hand, just can't help interfering. Three eventful months ensue. </p><p>A Tasertricks story inspired by <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i>, set in the Avengers universe. Additional dialogue by Mr. W. Shakespeare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Battle of Wits

**Author's Note:**

> Much Ado About Nothing, in the Avenger universe. Just call it a Joss Whedon mashup.  
> AU: set a few years after many (not all) of the events of _Thor:A Dark World_ ,  
> written before I saw the movie so no spoilers apart from what you'd see in the trailers.  
> The good lines are probably stolen from Shakespeare. The characters belong to Marvel. I own nothing. Sob.

“Tell it to the hand, god-boy.”

What? Tony directed his attention from his equipment to the workstation in the centre of the room. Loki sat, eyes on monitor, arm extended to the left, holding a coffee cup. The cup was in Darcy Lewis’ path and her face suggested she was less than impressed. 

Loki looked up. “Ah, my pet lives! Have your masters not yet realised your true value and returned you to the wilderness and the other wildcats?” 

Darcy crossed her arms. “Oh, you don’t get rid of the cat when there’s a rat around.”

Loki put down the cup and leaned back in his chair, long legs stretched. He put his hands behind his tilted head, his sweater and jeans doing nothing to hide the lean outline of his body. Tony admired the view. Darcy appeared unmoved.

Loki half smiled and spoke softly, teasingly. “Once, Ms Lewis, my lightest word would have the fairest ladies running to fulfil my wish. My merest whim would be their law.” He signed. “Of course, they were of noble blood, educated and discerning. I must conclude you are none of those things.” 

Darcy shrugged. “I discern one thing, god-boy. Such a hit with the ladies, yet they never called you the God of Love. Always with the God of Lies.” 

In one movement Loki was sitting bolt upright, glaring at Darcy. “Do you say I lie?”

Tony looked around wildly but Erik and Jane were still working at the other end of the room, comparing notes. Admittedly Loki and Darcy weren’t shouting, but how could anyone not notice this? 

Darcy didn’t turn a hair. She stood her ground and looked Loki straight in the eye. “The Vikings didn’t see you romancing, is all I’m saying.”

“Romancing? I am a warrior, I have no time for the love of mortals.”

“How lucky for mortals. And for you. No chance to be disillusioned.”

Loki glared. “And what of you, Ms Lewis? Your sweet conversation must draw suitors like flies to honey.”

Darcy shrugged, breaking eye contact. “I’ve got no time for romancing either, god-boy. World to protect, remember?”

“And the world breathes a sigh of relief. They are preserved from the irritation of a wildcat’s scratches.” 

Darcy looked away and licked the corner of her mouth. “Oh, I’ve scratched plenty and got no complaints. In fact they couldn’t get enough.” Her gaze returned to Loki, eyes narrowed. “It’s only rude entitled assholes who have to worry.” She put her head to one side and considered. “A scratched face would probably improve you. Why don't we try it and see?” 

“Enough! An eight-legged steed does not run as hard or long as your tongue. I cannot leave this station. I implore you, in the name of the Nine, to serve me coffee, lest the world end as you prattle.”

“Magic word.”

Loki sighed theatrically, and placed his hands in front of him, palms together, fingers extended. “Please.” 

“No probs. Any roast in particular? Special order?” 

Loki’s eyes rolled. Given there was one filter coffee jug in the lab, Tony couldn’t blame him. “Wet, and caffeinated, if it please you.” 

“Sure, you only have to ask. Nicely.”

* * *

It took only a few more days for Tony to understand why that first verbal contest went unnoticed by the others. Loki and Darcy bickering was part of the background sounds of the lab, like the machinery tests. At least once a day Loki seemed incapable of requesting coffee in any way other than sticking out an arm with the single word “coffee”. Add in various slights when they were actually working together and disputes were frequent. Since neither felt the need to raise their voice, the disruption was minimal. So far. 

Tony listened with half an ear to the latest spat, only switching attention when the verbal fight got dirty. Darcy was asking questions about magic, as she should, as part of her work. Whatever Loki had said to provoke her, now with each mention of the dampening of Loki’s magic, she managed to convey that Loki was impotent in all senses of the word. It was blatant enough to be infuriating for Loki, yet subtle enough to be totally deniable. Tony admired a master. At the same time, he would rather have admired from behind a blast shield, dampened magic or not. 

Erik wandered past, going for coffee. Tony hissed at him and beckoned him over. 

“Do you find it difficult working with this?” Tony nodded sideways at the tableau in the centre of the room.

Erik considered. “It was difficult at first. It was hard to let go of what Loki did to us, to me. But I think in these past months I have come to terms. We even, I would say, work well together.”

“Ah”, said Tony. “Glad to hear it. So the fighting doesn’t bother you?” 

“Fighting?” Erik looked across the room. Loki looked furious. Darcy was cool as a cucumber. 

“Oh, that. To be honest, we don’t notice it any more. Not unless it gets heated.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose again. “This isn’t heated. Okay. So what do you do when it does get heated?” 

Erik shrugged. “Jane usually makes popcorn.” 

“How does that stop it?”

“Oh, it doesn’t. But it’s nice to eat while we are waiting for them to stop.” 

Tony considered the possibility Erik was joking. Erik didn’t usually joke but surely this time he had to be pulling Tony’s leg. 

Erik put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Don’t worry” he said. “They are more productive this way. When Darcy was out sick for two days with flu Loki could not work. When Loki is called away Darcy is distracted. With the pressure we are under they need to blow off steam I guess. And it doesn’t disturb us. You’ll get used to it.” 

Next time Tony went to get coffee he looked in the cupboard. Among the pop-tarts and coffee there was a big box of microwave popcorn. Half empty. It looked like this three month assignment was going to be interesting. 

* * *

Loki apparently never ate. Asgardians could, it seemed, live off coffee and insults. All the same, Tony checked his little pet scanner he had thrown together to make sure Loki was in the lab. He spotted Darcy in the canteen and joined her. Darcy was in high good humour.

“Wouldn’t they make you sick?”

Tony turned to see what she was talking about. At a round table not far away Thor and Jane were deep in conversation

Darcy cupped her mouth with her hands. “Stop talking and kiss him already!” Jane and Thor ignored her. 

“Aw, they’re adorable. Look, Jane is whispering that she loves him. You can tell.” 

Darcy switched her attention from the couple to her dessert. “Well, they’ve got love and I’ve got cake. Come to mamma.” 

Tony grinned. “You know it’s not either/or, right?” 

Darcy grinned back. “You should know. And thanks for the new pastry chef. This is to DIE for.” 

Tony took a spoon and stole some. “It really is. Hey!” Darcy had taken the bowl, twirled around and was eating the cake out of reach. “Get your own, Mr Stark”

“Why don’t you get a piece of that?” Tony gestured to the loving couple over his shoulder. “They look happy.”

“Oh, I know what you’re up to, more cake for you” Darcy chortled. “Well it ain’t going to work. I’m not into romance. Sides, I don’t have time to look for a man and the cake is right here.” 

“I’ll find you one”, offered Stark.

“Yeah?” Darcy considered. “Okay then, you do that. Wish list.” She ticked the points off on her fingers. “Gotta be rich, super-smart, good-looking naturally, and a bit of a bad boy.” She put on an exaggerated sad face. “Why didn’t your daddy have more boys?” 

“There’s always me”, offered Stark for the devilment of it. He leaned forward, lips parted, eyes telegraphing desire. 

Darcy almost choked on her cake. “NO WAY! I mean, thanks but no. Not that I’m not flattered, of course I am, but I wasn’t, you know, coming on to you. I...” 

Tony took pity on her, pointed his finger and hooted with laughter.

Darcy laughed too, caught between relief and annoyance at being fooled. “You bastard, Tony Stark. I’m gonna get you.”

* * *

It took three days of tiredness and irritability before Loki let it slip that Darcy was secretly serving Tony decaf coffee from a flask hidden in the cupboard. “I do not specify ‘caffeinated’ from pedantry, Mr Stark”. Given Loki also specified “wet”, Tony considered he’d had a lucky escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  As Len said in the comments, the characters map as follows:  
> Beatrice = Darcy, Benedick = Loki, Hero = Jane (ish), Claudio = Thor (ish). Tony Stark is basically our Don Pedro. 
> 
> Most of the dialogue is rewritten but some bits and pieces of original Shakespeare remain, especially for Loki and Thor (sounds right for them). 
> 
> There will be plot differences too.
> 
> This chapter covers the same ground as Much Ado About Nothing Act 1 scene 1 (where Beatrice and Benedick banter) and Act 2 scene 1 (where Don Pedro offers to find Beatrice a husband. He offers to take the job too, though it's not so clear if he's joking. Tony definitely is!)


	2. Covert Operation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Celebrating Unique People in Drudgery"  
> Loki was right, it was a truly horrible name. But Tony really wanted the initials to spell out 'CUPID'. It was only fair to give Fury a hint before starting his crazy experiment.

“What the hell does this have to do with me?” Nick Fury had, as usual, a million things to do. Tony Stark in his office spouting mangled management speak was preventing him doing any of them. “You want to hold a party in your own building with your own staff, go right ahead.” 

“Needs to be everyone, to be a proper Celebrating Unique People in Drudgery event” said Tony. “That includes all associated with SHIELD who work in the labs. Agents included.” 

Fury’s eyes narrowed. “Now why would I tell my staff to go to your ‘event’? Don’t you think they’ll go anyway? Just make sure there's beer.” 

“We have to have full attendance,” insisted Stark. “If you look at these deliverables again, you’ll see that the motivation matrix...” 

“STOP!” Fury held his hand up. “I don’t care. You want mandatory attendance for all associated with SHIELD in the labs, fine. You have it. As long as you leave this office within the next 30 seconds and take your goddamn charts with you.” 

 

* * *

With Darcy’s help, Tony devised a few group activities to camouflage a night of food, drink and dancing. He was pretty sure most came from her undergrad days, and vetoed all the ones involving nudity and chugging. No point directly provoking Fury. 

As people filed under the huge “Celebrating Unique People in Drudgery” banner into the “Stark Conference Centre” (better known informally as “Club Stark”), Tony looked for a familiar face. Yes, there was Loki, here simply because there was no way out of it. All the stupid charts Tony had arranged to be made for Fury had been worth it. 

Once the games were over, Tony went looking for Loki. He found him lurking in a dark corner looking bored. A whoop from the dance floor suggested that Darcy, in contrast, was in her element. 

“Why may I not leave?” asked Loki petulantly. “It is obvious that no-one wants me here.” 

“Try mingling a little.” Stark suggested. “You might enjoy it.” 

Loki sneered. “Here? At your event with the ugly name?” He indicated the partying scientists and agents with contempt. “They all hate and fear me.” 

“So, you’re a shape-shifter, shape-shift. Blend in.” 

“And this?” Loki held his arm in front of Tony’s face, the dampening bracelet inches from his nose. Tony knew about it, in fact had become an expert over the past few weeks as he hacked all the information available on the SHIELD servers about it. And he had ideas about its vulnerabilities. 

“Dampening implies you have some powers left.” Loki shifted position and his expression told Tony he was on dangerous ground. Tony was certain Loki could still alter his appearance to some extent, but the files didn't say why this power hadn’t been removed completely like the rest. Either the data was off-server or SHIELD didn’t know. 

“Extremely limited powers”, Loki said, the dangerous look still on his face.

“So? Use them. Failing that, visit Walgreens. Change your hair color, or get a tan, or wear something besides green and goddamn black! You DO get the concept of blending in, right?” 

“Why are you telling me this?” Loki, always suspicious, which in the circumstances was entirely reasonable. 

“Because you’re messing up my Celebrating of Unique People, that’s why! Now get the hell out there and mingle!” 

Loki looked as if he was about to argue but suddenly smirked as if something had occurred to him. He left his wall and strode off. 

Stark gave him ten minutes and went looking for him again. His latest Loki-scanner was built into a working camera, so Tony could scan the crowd and look natural doing it. Triangulation narrowed the search down to a small area.

Okay, kudos to the shape-shifter. Tony had been certain Loki’s height would remain the same, but there were no tall men in this part of the room at all. In fact all the men there were dwarfed by...ohboy. 

The beautiful green-eyed brunette, standing exactly where the scanner placed Loki, looked Tony up and down. Tony collected his open mouth and scattered wits and took a photo, then looked at her flirtatiously. As he moved towards her, a look of contempt spread over the brunette’s face and she moved away. Tony backed off and examined the photo. 

Loki’s face, still pale, bone structure not so different, but the chin less pronounced and the face rounder, all angles softened. The hair still dark, but much longer and allowed to fall into waves. Black jeans, and a white shirt knotted at the waist. No way was anyone (except Tony Stark, genius) going to recognize hi...her. The brunette had obviously decided on a destination: she was heading straight to the bar.

“JARVIS” mouthed Tony.  
“Yes sir?” replied JARVIS, through the earpiece hidden in Tony’s ear.  
“Tall brunette, jeans, shirt, approaching the bar. Photos and tracking please.”  
“Very good sir.” 

* * *

“It’s so hot, isn’t it?” Darcy turned to the speaker, a tall brunette who could have stepped straight from the pages of Vogue. 

“Join me,” said Darcy pulling out the stool next to her. “Have a drink. Tony’s buying! Cocktails for all!”

The model sat gingerly on the stool and looked around. “Don’t mind if I do.” She held out her hand and Darcy took it. “I’m Lucy, just moved here from England.” 

“Great to meet you. I’m Darcy.”

“Not Darcy Lewis!” the brunette giggled.

“The very same. Why?” 

“Oh, someone told me you were in hot pursuit of Mr Stark.” The brunette, highly amused, tapped Darcy on the shoulder. “I suppose he IS very rich.”

“You’re calling me a gold-digger?” Darcy locked eyes with the brunette, who looked hurriedly away.

“Not me. Just...someone told me that. And that you were googling all your best lines so he’d think you a wit. They must be mistaken. Poor you.” 

Darcy nodded slowly. “It was Loki that told you.” 

The brunette was taken aback. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, please. Everyone knows who he is. Pretty face. Too much hair product. Flattened half New York. That guy.” 

The brunette recovered. “I believe not.” 

“Did you feel an urge to laugh?” 

“What?”

“Did you really want to laugh at this guy? If you did it was definitely Loki. He’s the trickster god.” 

The brunette looked as if she was confused.

“Trickster. Like, a jester. Asgard’s jester. A fool if you like that word better. Since TV hadn’t been invented yet, Loki telling lies was the best entertainment they could get.” 

The brunette looked stunned. Darcy sipped her drink and continued. 

“Hanging out with low-lives, putting people down – that’s Loki. The only thing that varies is just how low, and just how nasty the putting down gets. He’s doomed to be the same rude, ignorant piece of scum for ever, I guess.” 

The brunette had recovered her poise. “When I meet the gentleman, I’ll tell him what you say.” 

“Oh, be my guest. It’ll be hilarious. He’ll get cross, he’ll try to crack wise, no-one will laugh, half won’t even listen and then he’ll sulk. A thousand years and he still doesn't get that people were laughing at him, not at his 'wit'. He’ll never learn.” 

“I must go”, said the brunette through gritted teeth. She climbed off the bar stool and hurried into the crowd. 

Darcy smirked. “Hey, you forgot your drink!”

* * *

Stark was chilling out and talking tech when suddenly Loki was there. 

“So,” said Tony, moving away from the others. “How’d the mingling go?” 

“Mingling?” hissed Loki. He leaned close into Tony’s face. 

“She abused me past the endurance of a block. She told me, not knowing me, that I was a jester and duller than a great thaw, hurling her missiles so quick I could only stand at bay and endure the volleys. Lacking wit? She speaks daggers and every word stabs. Asgard’s jester? I would rather be bound there again in eternal solitude than bear the poison she drips in my ear. And all this, for the sake of your” he all but spat the word “mingling.” 

Thor had come over. “Loki, the Lady Darcy is angry with you. One she spoke with told her you insulted her.”

Tony looked behind him. “Look, here she comes.”

Loki took one glance, and then turned back to Tony, a wild look in his eye. 

“Command me to any service, even to the world’s end. I would fetch a snowflake from the furthest pole, pluck Fury’s beard, steal apples from Idun’s garden rather than speak three words with this harpy. You have no task for me?” 

Thor touched Loki’s arm. “None but to desire your good company, brother.” 

Loki almost snarled. “I cannot endure...” 

Tony intervened. “You can go, but remember, you owe me.” Loki turned to found himself face-to-face with Darcy. They glared at each other. Loki swept off, head held high. Darcy shrugged and plunked herself down next to Jane.

“Did you say something to Loki?” Jane asked her.

“Me? Hadn’t seen god-boy until now. Had his insults relayed to me though.”

“He is sore distressed,” Thor told her. 

Darcy looked at him. “Me too.” 

“Hey, get with the programme.” Tony interrupted. “We’re supposed to be Celebrating Unique People. Time for champagne!” They dropped it, though Thor still looked unhappy and soon left with Jane. Darcy was still there when Tony left a few hours later, and Tony recognized defiance when he saw it. 

* * *

"I don't recall giving clearance for Loki to attend this event of yours." Fury had been expecting fallout, even had extra agents on standby, but not anything this serious. 

"It fell under the mandatory attendance for all associated with SHIELD in the labs."

"I see." Tony had a nasty feeling that he did. "And now you’re telling me that even when wearing the bracelet Loki can alter his appearance. Are you absolutely sure?" 

Tony nodded, trying to look like the conscientious team-player he completely failed to be. He was doing this so Fury would hear it from him, in the way Tony chose him to hear. Not at all because Tony was a little worried about what he might have unleashed. 

“The detector was pointed directly at Loki. No mistake. I got JARVIS to get a few shots too. This was the best.” He slid the tablet across the table. 

“Forgive my skepticism, but how are you detecting him? We’ve been working on that a very long time.” 

“I’m not detecting him, as such. But he can’t remove the bracelet and it gives off a unique signal. Relatively short range, but within a square mile or so it’s accurate.”

“Dare I ask where he is now?”

“The detector says he’s in his room. JARVIS confirms.” 

Fury nodded then rubbed his forehead. “So could you kindly explain how limited shape shifting allows for gender change?” 

Tony shrugged, hands wide. “Beats me. It’s magic. Beyond our understanding for the moment.” Tony’s eyes had a far-away look as he considered the problem. “What’s interesting is what didn’t change – basic coloring and height, build stayed similar allowing for feminization and, um, soft tissue redistribution...” 

Fury waited but Tony was staring into space.

“Well, if you’ve finished daydreaming about your new crush, I have work to do. And don’t forget to hand in the scanner on your way out. “ 

* * *

“So JARVIS, what do you think?” 

“The picture quality is far from ideal, sir. It’s a shame this didn’t occur to you earlier.” 

“We’ve got to work with what we’ve got.”

“There is substantial similarity, consistent with the iris patterns being identical. If NEXT time you could warn me, a shot in better conditions could tell us beyond doubt.”

“I’m hoping there isn't a next time” Tony muttered to himself. 

* * *

So, the results of the experiment: phase one in Project CUPID. 

Confirmed hypothesis: as expected Loki went straight to Darcy.  
Result: he insulted her. Probable motive: to get the upper hand. Possibility of jealousy being involved? (Tony finally forced Darcy to tell him what “Lucy” had said, and laughed for a full five minutes when he heard.)  
Implications: unclear. 

Point of interest: Darcy when riled knew exactly where to hit Loki where it hurt most: his status on Asgard, his intelligence, his silver tongue. That suggested she had put some thought into the subject.  
Implications: unclear. 

Point of interest: Darcy’s words bothered Loki. Since when did the aspiring Ruler of Earth get so riled by the words of a mere mortal, no matter how pointed they were?  
Implications: interesting. 

Open question: had Darcy recognized Loki?  
(There was no way to find out, without admitting what Tony knew. However Tony found it hard to imagine why she would vent to a stranger rather than give Loki an earful at firsthand.)  
If she recognized his eyes that readily: very interesting implications indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and commenting!
> 
>  **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Broadly based on Act 2 scene 1, the parts where Beatrice meets a disguised Benedick and berates him (he is the prince's jester, dull and unwitty), and Benedick vents afterwards. 
> 
> Tony Stark has probably the only straight Shakespeare line he'll get: "Look, here she comes.”


	3. Cold War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don’t play with him. It is not kind and it is not wise.”  
> "If they were but a week married, they would talk themselves mad.”
> 
> Everyone agrees that matching up Loki and Darcy is crazy or dangerous, or both. Why would any sane person get involved in Tony's plan?

The next day in the lab was quiet. Loki did not speak to Darcy. Darcy had the hang-over from hell.

Tony dropped in over the weekend. Loki was there, as always. Erik was on duty and told Stark that Jane and Darcy would not be in until Monday. Tony considered the older man as they both collected coffee. “This must be difficult for you.” As one, they looked at the figure in black at the central workstation.

“It is strange,” said Erik eventually. “I can never trust him completely. I shall never be his friend. Yet I can pity him, and even pity him enough not to let him know it.”

“Yes”, said Stark. “I can get that.”

Their eyes met. “Don’t play with him”, Erik said. “It is not kind and it is not wise.”

Stark left, thoughtful.

Monday was still quiet. Darcy spoke to Loki only when absolutely necessary. Loki did not speak to Darcy at all. Tony wondered if Jane and Erik felt as on-edge as he did. Then finally on Tuesday it happened. The pale arm extended in front of Darcy, who was struggling with a pile of reports. “Coffee!” And they were off again.

“See?” said Jane in the canteen later. “It blew over. It always does.”

“They are friends.” Thor said. Jane looked dubious. “Of a sort,” Thor amended.

“They get on like a house on fire.” said Tony. “Heat, flames, destruction, calls to the emergency services...”

Thor laughed loudly. “A good one, Tony Stark. But fire is necessary. It is powerful when controlled. Would you be without it?”

“I draw the line at raw steak” said Tony, cutting his, a perfect medium-rare. The perfect time, he reflected, to throw something out there.

“Talking of heat, just imagine if they got together.”

Jane smiled. Thor shook his head. “If they were but a week married, they would talk themselves mad.”

* * *

It was different this time. No-one else saw it, but Darcy felt it in the pit of her stomach. Loki was calm, nothing she said seemed to shake the icy indifference underlying his words.

He was talking now, chin up, eyes looking through her.

“This shining lure of freedom, you grasp at it, yet what has it brought you? It simply draws you to this place, to my hand, to serve me.”

“It’s my job, god-boy. I can walk out that door anytime I like.”

“And yet, you do not.”

Darcy shrugged. “You’re here too. What’s more, when Jane’s back, I’m going to the canteen and you'll still be here. Who’s really the prisoner?”

“I bide my time”.

“Well, maybe I bide mine.”

“Do you, in truth?” His indifference and disbelief were clear.

* * *

Tony dropped the question into a few other conversations that day. The consensus was this: it was the craziest idea anyone had ever heard, with a side of highly dangerous. Tony knew there was a reason he found it so appealing. 

Only one asked whether he planned doing something about it.

* * *

“Pepper, it’s been a long time since we talked. Outside all this I mean.” Natasha’s hand took in Pepper’s office and the general insanity of both of their lives.

“I'd love to get together. When?”

“Early dinner this evening?”

Pepper smiled. “Perfect – I can slot it in before the 8:30 with Japan. Looking forward to it.”

When they met at the restaurant, Pepper’s anticipation gave way to foreboding as they went past the tables to a private room in the back.

“It’s about Tony”, Natasha said, after they had ordered.

No kidding. “What did he do?”

Natasha paused. “Nothing, yet. He may ask you soon what you think about Loki and Darcy Lewis. As a couple.”

“In the lab, Darcy Lewis? The one who tasered Thor?” Tony loved that story.

“Yes.”

“And the alien homicidal maniac who tossed Tony out a window? Has he gone _completely crazy?!_ ”

“I thought you might react like that.”

“Damn right I'm reacting like that. That bastard almost killed Tony. And now Tony wants to match-make and put Darcy into the firing line to boot? Has he no idea how dangerous this is? What the hell is he _thinking?_ ”

“Yes. Though there are other aspects to consider.”

Pepper pulled up short. “You don't actually approve of this crazy plan of his, do you?”

Natasha pulled out a SHIELD file. Paper, Pepper noted, so something they wanted to stop Tony getting his hands on. “When Asgard first suggested that Loki came here they gave no rationale of any kind. So SHIELD made the necessary risk assessments. Pulled in myths, current behaviour, whatever intel Asgard would give…”

“That Norse seminar last year in Stockholm – that was SHIELD wasn’t it?”

“The thinking was that Thor would be more comfortable talking about his past with Loki outside of an official SHIELD setting. The benefits for scholarship were a happy side-effect.”

Natasha paused as the food was brought in and continued.

“SHIELD's assessment was that, unsurprisingly, just being on Earth wasn't going to change Loki. If, however, he made a connection that would almost certainly make a difference. Loki’s attitude towards humans was markedly different in the past. There is also evidence that those he trusts and cares for have a strong influence on him.”

“So Darcy Lewis is going to be this connection? Is this SHIELD tactics, the Disney version? Boy meets girl, girl reforms boy, happy ending?”

Natasha quirked an eyebrow. “Hardly. The hope was that Loki would connect with co-workers. Art perhaps, culture. Something. But he refuses to interact with his colleagues outside work tasks, let alone form friendships. Introducing Tony to the lab didn't provoke a reaction, at least not a positive one. He barely talks to his brother. He will not attend the counseling SHIELD made available. He shows no interest in the world.”

“I see. But this plan…”

“Tony has picked up on the emotional tension between Darcy and Loki." Natasha tapped a page. "I had already noted it – and it’s not a risk free situation. If Tony does nothing, that tension is not going to go away and no-one be sure what will happen because of it, or when.”

* * *

The pale arm went out, the demand for coffee was voiced. Darcy turned from her filing, walked over and took the cup. 

“You just think you are so much better than us, don't you?”

Loki’s eyes didn't move from his screen, his expression did not alter. “Are you tired, little wildcat?”

“Don't call me that.”

“It hurts, does it not? You, little wildcat, you are trying to fly with eagles. You cannot even comprehend what they are attempting. You strain but it can never be enough. You leap, but they surpass your struggles with a single beat of their wings.”

“Very poetic. Shouldn't you be doing some work?”

“But I am. This is nothing to me, children’s games. I surpass your scientists, your _Jane_ and _Erik_ , as much as they surpass you. So I understand that one day, little cat, they will fly away. They will have no choice. And what will poor wildcat do then, poor thing?”

“Sit in a barn and keep herself warm?”

“Perhaps. Poor little cat. All her little life wasted, because she refused to understand just how unimportant she was. All that futile struggle.”

* * *

“And that is becoming an unacceptable risk." Natasha continued. "He appears to think advancing our technology will make us trust him. But he’s wrong. Eventually we will have to throw him back to Asgard. Based on recent intelligence, that might be soon”

“So, throw him back.”

“He will be a long-term risk, to them and very much to us. These are huge stakes we are playing for, perhaps survival of the human species. Loki as an ally could save us. Loki against us might be the end.”

“So you're going to sacrifice Darcy in the hope the god will be appeased?” Pepper felt her stomach turn.

Natasha leaned forward. “You’re forgetting about Tony. He has a good instinctive feel for people. His father had it too, and the success of Stark Industries is built on it as much as on their genius. A shame they applied it so rarely to their personal lives.”

“I’m not forgetting.” Natasha was right, Tony could always read people. Admittedly he usually used that knowledge to work out the best way to drive them insane...

“This idea of his, frankly, I'd never have thought of it." The words "because it's crazy" hung in the air, unspoken. "There is a chance it can work, which is more than any other alternatives offer." Natasha's hand moved across the table, laying out the advantages. "The situation will be brought to a head. That will allow us to focus our resources, secure Darcy's safety. Over a short period, Bruce Banner can be recalled and extra security can be put in behind the scenes. And if it fails, Loki will be returned immediately to Asgard. But please read the file, I'd value your opinion.”

Natasha passed the file and with a wry twist to her mouth Pepper flicked through it.

* * *

Loki suddenly turned his head and looked at Darcy, as coldly as at the data on his screen. “They will leave because you are nothing. You understand nothing. And you think you can understand me.” He laughed briefly without amusement. “You think you can battle with me? That your little claws can pierce my skin? I am so far beyond you, you cannot even see me.”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed. “Can't I?” She matched his stare, grim determination mingling with a desperate triumph. "A cat can look at a king. I see more than you think.”

The intensity with which she stared into his eyes took him aback, though not so much as a tremor revealed it. “Cling to your illusions, wildcat, if you must. Fetch your king some coffee. No tricks or I’ll twist your tail.”

Darcy took the cup and went. When she reached the coffee jug, she breathed deeply as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Pepper put the file down, and shook her head.

“I need a scotch but dessert will have to do. So what do you want me to do, Natasha?”

“All I ask is that you don't stop him. ”

“You want me to lie to Tony?” Pepper asked, frowning.

Natasha shrugged. “I would rather you didn't tell him about the simulations and the extra security, but if you prefer you can tell him everything. The main thing to remember is that we're relying on Tony Stark’s salesman’s skills now. I think you'd agree they work best when he believes he is running the show. ”

* * *

Another day of Loki whispering in her ear that she was nothing, that she was worthless, that she would be left behind. It wouldn't matter except deep inside Darcy was afraid that he was right. He had managed to get into her head and drag out the fears she denied to herself.

"Something bothering you Darce?”

“Nah, s’all good. Just a few late nights.”

Tony shrugged but his eyes were sharp. “Would some company tonight help?”

“It's okay, Tony, you've got your own work to do.”

“If you’re sure, kid. Ring if you change your mind.”

Tony left for his own lab. Darcy moved on, only to be barred by Loki’s arm. He hissed his words, too low for any but Darcy to hear.

“Refusing the Man of Iron's aid? You are wise, he cannot protect you for ever. His intervention would only prolong your ordeal." Loki's voice softened, became beautiful, enticing. "Abandon this poisonous dream of freedom. Accept the subjugation which is your birthright. As all humanity, you were made to be ruled.”

"But why?" Darcy was so tired, her eyes gazed into the distance as she tried to follow her train of thought.

Loki lowered his arms and his voice caressed his words. "Freedom is a lie, your individuality a snare. It is only in submission you can be truly free." 

"Yes, I get that. Freedom from responsibility, from having to choose. Man is condemned to be free, all that. But why do you want to enslave us?"

"There is always a use for slaves." Loki's voice was silky smooth.

"Is there really?" She was too tired to fight, but her brain worried at the problem regardless. "Need someone to provide your every whim? But you have magic for that, or had. Armies? Temples? I don't see it. So just the submission then? But if we are nothing, born to bow down to one more powerful, then our submission is worthless too. You might as well dominate an ant hill. So why bother?"

"Foolishness. Why prattle of what you cannot hope to understand?" The words were cold. 

"But if we _are_ able to chose, then our submission, undertaken of our own free will, would mean something." Words from long ago tutorials lined up in Darcy's brain. "Except once we submitted, we would be dependant and from that point our acceptance of your lordship would be meaningless too. Can a lord believe the praise of his slaves, really? When he has so much power over them? He's lost what he most wanted in the first place, whether he knew it or not, the acknowledgement of his equals." 

“You forget yourself, my pet.” The tone was sharp, and Darcy started. Loki's eyes on her were shards of emerald ice and she flushed with embarrassment, afraid of the mockery she guessed he would unleash on her, of her last defences being stripped away.

Instead he turned to his screen in dismissal. Darcy took the opportunity to scurry away. He did not speak to her again.

The next day, things were closer to normal. Loki still was cold and indifferent, but no longer did he speak of despair and slavery. In the evening he ignored her. Darcy felt the knots in her stomach start to unwind.

She had loved Pol Sci, was glad she had studied it, though she knew that it was never going to be relevant to her new life. Or had thought she knew - apparently it had saved her, for now. Tonight, Darcy thought, she would be able to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for the reads, comments and kudos. Great encouragement to keep writing.
> 
>  **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Based on about four lines (!) in Act 2 scene 1. Thor has a line lifted directly from Leonato: "If they were but a week married, they would talk themselves mad”. 
> 
> The huge difference between Benedick and Loki? Benedick has sworn off romance and women, Loki has sworn off emotional contact with, basically, all of sentient life.
> 
>  **What's Darcy on about?**  
>  She's referencing Hegel, specifically part of a section of Hegel's _Phenomenology of Spirit_ often called "Lordship and Bondage" or "The Master and Slave dialectic". Someone told Darcy she was incapable of understanding Hegel. Nothing Darcy likes better than proving someone wrong (especially when it's that guy in the front row of lectures who sneers at her and thinks he's the new Nozick).


	4. Recruitment Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Natasha...broke the story down into tactical elements"  
> Two dinners and a strategic lunch meeting: planning, a story and a visitor.

Pepper lounged comfortably on the sofa, wineglass in hand, with Tony gazing into the fire with his head on her lap. The dinner shipped in from _Per Se_ had been superb. Pepper wondered idly if the chef had recovered from Tony ordering pizza yet.

“Pepper, you remember Darcy?” She looked down as he turned his face up to hers.

“Natasha told me.”

“Damn.”

“Want to know what she said?”

“You are going to tell me not to do it, aren’t you?”

“No. I don’t know. Tony, I don’t like you playing with people’s lives.”

Tony shifted. “You think I’m just doing this because I’m bored?”

“Are you?”

Tony turns his head and looked into the fire. “I wondered that myself.”

He looked up into Pepper's face again, then held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

“I don’t know. Is it stupid to think I have a sense of how he feels? Because I think I do. I had issues. I went off the rails. I went off the rails even though I had Rhodey and you.”

“Stop it, Tony. You’re nothing like Loki. You were always your own worst enemy. He was...well, everyone’s.”

Pepper spoke forcefully, her strawberry blonde hair framing serious eyes. Tony reached up a hand and smoothed the crease between her eyebrows.

“Don’t worry, Pepper. I’m just saying I think I understand him a little. Hell, even Erik feels sorry for him, and he doesn’t even like him.”

“I just hate to hear you underestimating yourself. You should be proud of what you’ve done and who you are.”

Tony smiled up cockily. “Pepper, are you worrying about my self-esteem?”

Pepper looked back, refusing to be diverted. Tony dropped the smile. “I love you, do you know that?” He lifted his head, and gently kissed her lips, losing his hands in her hair.  

A passionate hour later they were both lying on the rug. Tony on his back stroked the sheepskin with the palm of his hand. Pepper lay close beside him, head on his chest.

Tony squinted down at her. “So will you join Team Tony?”

“I’m always on Team Tony. But Tony, are you completely sure about this?”

Tony drew back, and lay on his side so he could look directly into Pepper’s face.

“I am. A hundred percent sure. Just think Pepper, of all the time I wasted, when I could have been with you. Working with you all that time, never seeing what was under my nose...”

Pepper’s face was an “oh” of astonishment. Then she grinned. “Tony Stark, you old romantic.”

Tony put on an offended face. “How dare you! Come over here and say that.”

So Pepper did.

* * *

“That’s Jane and Thor on board.” Tony said. “Jane noticed the strain Darcy was under too. Tried to talk to her over the weekend, get her to take a vacation or transfer temporarily. No dice. Girl’s stubborn.”

“No wonder you get on so well,” said Pepper, grinning. “Even though she has the sense not to believe a word you say any more.”  

“Surprising she gets on with me at all”, Tony returned. “given the huge girl-crush she has on you.” Pepper punched him in the arm and grinned back.

Natasha was the third at the “lunchtime strategy meeting”. She looked a question at them both.

“You don’t know?” Tony was clearly planning to enjoy himself. “Happened about two weeks after I joined the lab. It was night…”

“It was 7:30am, Tony.”

“That _is_ the night. So I walked into the lab and Darcy was slamming down Loki’s coffee…” 

***

“You like it when people kneel, right?”

Loki paused, and then turned his head, to discover Darcy kneeling about a foot away from his chair. His expression didn’t change, though Tony, unnoticed in the doorway, thought he detected a slight slackness in the jaw. Probably the equivalent of gaping astonishment for most people.

“So I’m kneeling.” She joined her hands in supplication. “Can you leave it the hell alone? I am not chasing Tony! We’re just friends!”

Loki didn’t move.

“Yes, I get that you don’t know what that means. Ask Thor to draw you a picture. And don’t give me the Harry-met-Sally bull because friendship is totally possible.”

Tony was starting to wonder if Loki was in shock.

“Plus Tony is in a relationship. She’s gorgeous and clever and…”

“I think that’s my cue,” said Pepper, at Tony’s side. She ignored Tony’s frown at the show being cut short and walked across the floor. Darcy spun 180 degrees on her knees and blushed bright red. “Oh my God! I’m really sorry…”

“Why?” said Pepper, holding up a hand to help Darcy up. “It’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me all morning.”

“Sadly true. Not my usual charming self before dawn,” said Tony, earning him an eyeroll from the redhead and a glare (saying “You bastard, Tony!” as clear as words) from the brunette.

“It was all…” Darcy turned to indicate Loki, but his workstation was deserted.

***

"I don't know why you had to stop the show."

"Because in my opinion she was playing with fire. Another shared trait!" 

Natasha was smiling but her voice was serious. “Who else saw this?”

“No-one,” said Pepper.

Tony nodded. “I get what you’re thinking. Not really something Erik would need to see first thing in the morning, Darcy kneeling to Loki. Jane bawled Darcy out when Darcy told her about it.”

“Where had Loki gone?”

“Holed up in the library upstairs. We have a library – who knew? Thor tried to talk to him.”

“And?”

“From the sound of it Loki hadn’t turned a hair. Turned it all back on Thor for talking too loudly in the lab about Loki’s business. I know that because Thor told Jane about it in the lab, so, you know, not entirely unreasonable.” Tony smirked. “Loki also told Thor he was looking forward to his slap from Jane. Thor was less than overflowing with joy.”

Pepper shook her head at him. “You adore the idea that Loki is threatened by you.”

Tony grinned. “You have no idea how much.”

Natasha looked amused while the part of her brain that was always on alert broke the story down into tactical elements.

* * *

There was a surprise waiting at the lab for Tony the next day. Bruce Banner was waiting for him at his desk.

“Bruce, you old dog. What are you doing here? I thought you were in Gansu province.”

“’They’ thought I might find what you’re working on interesting. Or so they said. What are you up to?”

Tony’s eyes lit up. “Here, look at this. I’d value your opinion on the bio side...”

Loki glanced with curiosity at the intense technical conversation. “Hsst, wild-cat!” he hissed at Darcy. “Who is with Tony Stark?”

Darcy looked and a shadow of a smile hovered around her mouth. “Him? That’s the guy that whooped your ass.”

* * *

Tony was sitting on the corner of her desk before Natasha looked up, but he knew better than to think he had surprised her. He leaned forward, and spoke softly.

“I know what you’re doing. I’m fine with it, but just wanted you to know.”

The Black Widow nodded, one professional to another. “Thor is making noises. He wants to replace Jane on the L-project.”

“Absolutely no way. One ’bait the hook well; this fish will bite’ and it’s over. ”

“He’s not actually a fool. But it’s off the table.He accepted that.”

“Good.”

“Did Bruce agree to join the D-project?”

“How the hell did you know I asked?” Natasha just smiled.

* * *

“Why are you getting involved in this crazy scheme?” Pepper asked Bruce. Tony had just proved he could cook dinner, as long as dinner was omelets and salad. Bruce had told them about China, and his work there. Now the three sat, mostly in companionable silence.

Bruce looked thoughtfully at the fire through his glass of spring water. In the flickering light he looked sad, worn.

“Call me a fool,” he said, “but I like to think that anyone can hope for love. Even a monster.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, commenting, bookmarking and kudos'ing! I am planning to get this finished before Thor: The Dark World comes out and undermines the whole premise of this ;) 
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Again, this covers ground that Shakespeare handles in a few lines. Act 2 scene 1 again. Trust Tony to nick a line after I said he probably wouldn't. It's one from Claudio in Act 2 scene 3: 'bait the hook well; this fish will bite’. I read this play before I saw it performed, and Claudio throws in that and similar comments about their progress as the men try to trick Benedick into falling in love with Beatrice. On the page, it made him look a bit of an idiot. As Natasha says, Thor is not a fool. 
> 
> So expect no meta-comments about the progress of the trickery in the next chapter!


	5. Trojan Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"So mark my words, listen to what I say.”_  
>  Tony, Natasha and Jane discuss Darcy, but they are not alone.

Despite the light wood and modern furniture, the library managed to feel much older than it was. Three of the walls were lined with books, while the fourth had two windows, each shaded to allow only filtered light into the room. The leather reading chairs placed next to the windows and in the center of the room were of traditional design. Their skirts extended to the floor, and the armrests and high backs gave privacy to the reader. Only the cream leather showed they were contemporary.

Loki came here often. It was almost always deserted, and the one or two visitors who came to peruse the shelves quickly left, usually empty-handed. They never noticed him, sitting with his back to the door in the dim spot between the windows. It was remarkably close to the experience of being invisible.

It was the natural place to come when the lab closed early without explanation. Loki was reading the _Odyssey_ when he heard the door open and the familiar voice of Tony Stark.

“Something wrong when you can’t find an empty room in your own building. This should do.” Loki’s eyes narrowed, but otherwise he made no movement.

The small group filed in and settled themselves in the group of chairs in the centre of the room, set around a low table.

“Shall we begin?” Ah, the Black Widow, still trying to erase the red.

“I don’t know where to start.” Jane? Intriguing.

“The beginning is always good. So Darcy has the hots for Loki?”

Loki heard Jane gasp. He could all but hear the Widow’s eyes roll. “Shut up Tony. I don’t think Darcy would fall for anyone she works with, least of all him.”

“No.” Jane was emphatic. “Though...perhaps she might have once. When he first came she was excited. We'd told her things about the war; she was ready to believe Loki had changed. It was my fault. I was too positive in what I told her. And then…”

“Then?”

“He treated her like dirt. Absolutely like dirt. I don’t know, to him I suppose I and Erik and Thor were real to him, had some meaning. Darcy was less than nothing. She’d been warned to bite her tongue so she put up with it for almost two weeks.”

“And then she exploded, right?” Loki heard Tony add, under his breath, “Wow, wish I’d been there.”

“You have no idea. And Loki was astounded, I think. Just as you would be if this table started to scream abuse at you. It settled down pretty quickly. He discovered pulling rank didn’t work, attempts at intimidation didn’t work. That’s when the verbal battles started, and that's pretty much how it stayed. Until you came.”

“It might have looked settled, sure. But it was all brewing underneath. I’ve known a lot of women, and I’m telling you, she’s got it bad. Unless she’s going for an Oscar.”

“That’s always possible.” The Widow, putting a damper on Tony again.

“You seriously think so?” Tony took his feet off the table. “Jane, what did she say when you said she should take a break?”

“Well, she said she didn’t need to, that she preferred to be at work. That it was fine. That I didn’t understand.” Jane spoke more forcefully. “And I don’t. She was tense, exhausted. Why can’t she just take a break?”

"Why indeed." Tony, sarcastically.

“This is amazing. I would never have expected this of Darcy.” The Widow spoke calmly but the undercurrent of disapproval was there in her voice.

“She’s said nothing at all to Loki, right?”

“Why would she say anything to Loki?” Loki was surprised by the anger in Jane’s voice. “He started by treating her like dirt. I think he’s moved on to mind games now. If, and I’m not at all convinced of it, she has feelings for Loki, the last thing in the world she should do is tell him.”

“I agree with Jane. Think of the opening for manipulation, for mental torture.”

“Why, Natasha, do I get the nasty feeling you’re speaking from experience?”

Jane was standing up. “I can’t do this. I have to go. I’ll just say one thing. All I want is Loki to treat Darcy better. She is a wonderful intelligent decent person and I will _not_ let her be destroyed. If it doesn’t stop, one or other of them _will_ have to go.”

Loki heard Jane get up and leave the room.

“I think Jane is in denial,” the Widow said.

“You know what? If Darcy isn’t going to spill the beans, maybe someone else should.”

“And what would that do? I would be strongly against telling him anything until he’d started counseling and shown some concrete intention to change. ”

A brief silence from Tony.

“Don’t make faces, you know I’m right. Why should she trust him? Little wonder she hides her feelings. If he changes his behavior, treats Darcy better, then and only then should anything be said to him. Now if he knew he would certainly torment her – Jane is right.”

 “If he torments her because she loves him, we should kick him back to Asgard in chains. What has he got to be so superior about? Darcy is one in a million. Strong. Sassy. A stone cold fox. And she’s got smarts.”

 “About everything but loving Loki.”

“Don’t mind telling you, if I was fifteen years younger, I’d be after her myself.”

“Fifteen months younger, don’t you mean?”

“Yeah, yeah.” A grin audible in Tony’s voice. “She’s beautiful, but I’m practically a married man.”

“Hmmm. So what do we do? This will result in Darcy having a mental breakdown or worse.”

“No idea. Make her see sense? Can’t see what she sees in him.” Tony paused. “Though to be fair, he’s cut.”

“He’s more than cut. Graceful, handsome, intelligent, powerful...”

“Whoa there Nat. You got the hots for him yourself?”

After a pause, Loki could hear a faint scrape of the chair legs against the floor, as Tony automatically backed away from the look the Widow was giving him.

“Yeah, okay, I guess you’ve got a better developed sense of self-preservation. I’m sorry for Darcy, but I think we’re behind the eight-ball here.”

“There’s nothing to be done but keep an eye on the situation. I hope Darcy gets over it.” The Widow sounded as if the possibility was remote. “If not then Jane’s solution is the only one left. We split them up.”

“Sure.” They both got up.

 “Worth a report to SHIELD?” Tony opened the door.

“Not yet” the Widow replied, and the door closed behind them.

* * *

Loki only reopened his book when he heard the footsteps die away. He pushed the conversation out of his mind, but it intruded as he read.

 _“You are his son it seems, a man of quiet speech. So mark my words, listen to what I say.”  
_ He would have dismissed the whole thing as a trick, if not for the Widow’s disapproval and Jane’s anger.

 _“Of all the creatures that breathe and move on Earth, there is none as powerless as man.”  
_ They pitied Darcy, they were worried about her.

 _“As long as the gods grant him success and strength he thinks he will never know future suffering”_  
She was strong and beautiful, they had said. Wise in everything but loving him.

 _“Yet when the blessed gods instead bring trouble on him, he must endure the pain with whatever patience he can.”_  
Until the pain was too much to endure, until sickness and…

 “Enough!” Loki forced his mind back to the text. He read on as Athene, goddess of wisdom, prepared the sorrowing Penelope for the eyes of the suitors.

_“If only chaste Artemis would grant me a death as gentle, and stop me wasting my life on heartfelt sorrow, longing for my dear husband and all his virtues that made him supreme among the Achaeans.”_

Loki closed the book with a slam. He bowed his head and felt the edge of the cover press against his brow.

I never meant to do that to her. 

“She loves me.”

He sat like a statue in the fading light, and spoke, with mingled confusion and hope and anguish. “ _Why?_ ”

* * *

 “Well, I’m still alive.”

Pepper looked surprised. “What did Loki do?”

“Loki? I’ve just been mauled by Jane. She’s terrifying when she’s angry. I'd rather face Bruce's other guy."

Pepper sighed. “You didn’t tell Jane the whole plan, did you?”

“Not exactly.” Pepper shook her head at him. “We needed her to react honestly, not act. No way she would have got through to Loki otherwise. I _think_ she’s forgiven me.”

“So I can expect trouble from Thor then?”

“Doubt it. If anything he was surprised Jane wasn't keen on getting Loki and Darcy together. I’ve primed him with an opening. You’re good to go.”

* * *

It was very early in the morning when the tapping started on Loki’s door. Loki looked out, and then went into the hall, closing the door behind him. Darcy held up her hands as if to ward him off.

“This wasn’t my idea. I’ve been told to fetch you down to a meeting straight away. They couldn’t raise you on your phone.”

Loki looked at his phone. No signal. Darcy gave every sign that she was longing to get away.

“I thank you for taking the pains to tell me, Ms Lewis.”

Darcy looked at him sideways, as if trying to see the trick. ”It didn’t hurt. If it had been painful, I wouldn’t have done it. Not for you.”

“Perhaps you took some pleasure in bringing me this message?”

Darcy shrugged. “As much as you're take in bending my ear, I guess. Are you coming to this meeting or not?”

She headed for the lift. Loki considered her retreating back for a moment and followed.

* * *

“I can't stand the confusion in my mind!” Darcy muttered to herself. It had been the weirdest day ever. And all because of Loki.

If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying to be nice.

She was almost relieved when she heard the familiar call of “Coffee!” But instead of the usual, eyes fixed to the screen, a playful emerald gaze was directed at her straight down his lean arm. It threw her so much it took a moment to think what to say.

“You know, a three year old would have learned to say please by now”, she grumbled.

The playfulness did not leave his eyes. “I applaud your patience and pray I can trust in it a little longer.  I would be in your debt if you would give me some coffee. Wet and caffeinated, if it please you.”

 “What’s your game, god-boy?”

“What kind of game would you wish to play, Ms Lewis?” The teasing tone sent a tingle up her spine.

Darcy was lost for a reply again. Her mind was coming up with too many potential answers. She took the cup in silence and fetched the coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write this, so I did.
> 
> Trojan Horse as in "a person or thing intended to undermine or secretly overthrow an enemy or opponent" (OED). The legendary Trojan Horse, a "gift" to the Trojans actually filled with Greek soldiers, was built by Odysseus. 
> 
> The quotes in emphasis are from the book Loki is reading: Homer's _Odyssey_ , in [Book 18](http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Odyssey18.htm#_Toc90268619) the account of Odysseus' long return home.
> 
> I have Sinead O'Connor's "Troy" as an earworm now. Maybe because of "I never meant those things I said." 
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Finally, Act 2 Scene 3! All of it. Don Pedro and co-conspirators talk of how Beatrice loves Bendick, all for the benefit of a hidden Benedick. Beatrice is then sent to fetch Benedick to dinner and for the first time he doesn't rise to her taunts. 
> 
> Not word for word (or even character for character) for the deception section by any means, though the mode of attack is the same. I also followed the precedent that some productions use - isolating "She loves me. Why" in the speech made by Benedick after the deception. 
> 
> No backchat whatsoever (even when Natasha starts talking about therapy which was definitely not part of the script in Tony's opinion).


	6. The Second Front

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Her spirits are too coy and wild. Even a Prince of Asgard is not to her liking.”  
> Thor speaks his mind. Darcy freaks out.

Darcy headed for her refuge as soon as the lab emptied. Since Tony and Bruce would be away until next Monday Jane had decided to hold a second meeting with Erik, Tony and Loki. After her weird, weird day all Darcy wanted was the boring certainty of files.  

Her sanctuary was the end of the lab marked off by two large partitions, one on either side. The gap in the middle was enough to drive a car through but it was still possible to do the filing in the cabinets arranged around the walls and not be noticed by people wanting to annoy you. That the coffee and snacks lived here too was a bonus.

The downside was the place, though providing great cover, was about as soundproof as a lattice summer house. When Pepper came into the lab and greeted Bruce Banner, Darcy heard every word. Jane and Erik’s desks were far enough away for conversation to be inaudible, but Tony’s was only a few feet from the partition.

It was four weeks since Pepper had seen Darcy singing Pepper’s praises on her knees. Darcy was still deeply embarrassed meeting her. So she settled quietly into a corner with her files, worked as quietly as she could, and prayed no-one would go for coffee.

“Sorry, Pepper” Darcy heard Bruce say. “They’ve a meeting. Should only be half an hour or so.”

“I’ll wait. My 5pm cancelled. I’d rather wait and relax here than go back to the office. If I’m not interrupting.”

The relaxed chat between Bruce and Pepper was a pleasant backdrop to filing, until someone else arrived.

“Greetings.”

“Hi Thor. They’re in a meeting. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“I shall wait.” The desk creaked slightly as Thor sat on it.

“Perhaps it is my good fortune to meet with you alone here. I wish to ask about courtship in Midgard.”

“I think you and Jane have it worked out.” A smile in Pepper’s voice.

“Perhaps so.” Darcy raised an eyebrow. Trouble in paradise? “But I speak of Darcy and Loki.” Darcy’s second eyebrow joined the first. 

 “But…they aren’t a couple.” Bruce pointed out mildly. Darcy made a face. Way to understate it, Bruce!

“They would be. But she is too disdainful. Her spirits are too coy and wild. Even a Prince of Asgard is not to her liking.”

Stunned silence on both sides of the partition.

“Are you saying that Loki has feelings for Darcy?” asked Pepper.

“He loves her entirely.”

“Does _she_ know?”  Bruce sounded as stunned as Pepper.

“Would any tell her? When disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes? Did she ever look kindly on anything, that she would not sharpen her wit against it?”

“That’s not fair. And Loki doesn’t give any impression that he is fond of Darcy.” Darcy could have kissed Pepper.

“You think not? As for my brother, he is forced to armor himself in harsh words against her mockery. But perhaps she cannot love. Is this a common affliction in Midgard?”

“Your brother might try using courtesy as armor instead” Pepper again. 

“Maybe he’s doing that.” Bruce spoke slowly. “He was a lot less rude today.”

Darcy’s jaw dropped a little, and then she closed it. NO WAY.

“Yes, I think he is attempting it. But should I bid him hope? Or urge him to smother his affection, like a covered fire? In truth I fear the flame might find another object and end him once and for all.” Thor spoke grimly.

Another baffled silence.

“You are not saying he’d die of love, are you?” Bruce sounded disbelieving.

“Of love? I think not. Though he may well become a tree.”

Bruce muttered something under his breath. “A tree.” said Pepper flatly. She sounded as if the world no longer made sense. Darcy sympathized.  

“When those of Asgard tire of life or suffer great troubles, sometimes they go into the forest, and join with it. They take the shape of a tree and sleep until they would face the fray again.”

“Wow.” Bruce sounded vaguely wistful. “That’s beautiful. I wonder how it feels.”

“It is a better fate than to die with mocks. So what should I advise? Perhaps I should devise some slander to kill his love entire.”

“NO!” When Pepper used that voice it was easy to remember she was the CEO of an international corporation. It had authority stamped all over it. “Do not do any such thing. To be considerate is all the advice he needs. ”

“I thank you for your help. I will go and seek the room where Jane is.”

Another creak from the desk and the sound of Thor leaving.

“What the hell was that?”

“I really don’t know.” Pepper sounded amazed. After a pause her next words sounded more collected. “Do you think it could be true? That Loki loves Darcy?”

“It could be true.” Bruce sounded thoughtful.

“Tony told me he couldn’t work when she wasn’t around…still, I can hardly believe it, just because of how he speaks to her.”

“Perhaps he is pushing her away. Perhaps he is afraid. Afraid of how she might react. Afraid no-one can love a monster.”  

“Should we tell her? What should she do?”

“She should be careful. If he loves her, he’ll understand.”

“I hope so. Not everyone is you, Bruce.” And Darcy thought that Pepper hugged him.

 “What are you two up to? Should I be worried?” Tony Stark had obviously just walked in. Darcy could just hear Jane and Erik speaking together going to the other end of the office.

“You should be very worried.” Pepper’s voice was warm. “Bruce is a much better man than you are.”

“He’s _two_ much better men than I am. That’s the problem.”

Darcy heard the three voices retreat as Tony, Pepper and Bruce left together. She sat for a while in the quiet corner not even attempting to file. Then she pulled herself together and walked the length of the room to Jane and Erik.

“I’m going home now. I feel sick.” This was no more than the truth.

Jane studied her. “You do look a bit green. There hasn’t been trouble…?” She looked up the room towards the workstation where Loki sat.

“No! No, nothing like that.”

It’s just that eavesdroppers don’t hear well of themselves, she added to herself. I guess unless they’re Pepper Potts.

* * *

 

Safely in the apartment, Pepper let fly.

“When you said you ‘primed’ Thor, what the hell did you mean?”

Tony looked from Pepper to Bruce. “Just ‘lucky we met , want to know about courtship in Midgard, Loki loves Darcy’. Then to follow your lead. Why?”

Bruce shook his head. “Not exactly what happened.”

Pepper and Bruce told their story, while Tony was equal parts amazed and amused. "I guess Thor is more devious than I realized,” was his final judgement.

“I don’t like it.” The two men looked at Pepper enquiringly. “Just a gut feeling. A bad one.”  

“All the same, it will probably work better than what we planned,” Tony said slowly.

* * *

Darcy slammed the door of her apartment behind her, and fastened all the locks. She went straight into her bedroom, changed into her fluffiest pajamas then stopped. It was too early to go to bed. What was she going to do?

 What was she going to do?

 “Right, chill Darcy,” Darcy told herself. Tea. Couch. Stupid TV.

 The tea helped, a little. The TV didn’t. It didn’t stop her head and stomach from churning. What the hell was wrong with her?

  _I’m afraid._

 Oh, for crying out loud, Darcy Lewis! the sensible part of her brain told her. What have you got to be afraid of?  Okay, time to look at this logically. Thor said Loki loved her. And he was probably wrong. Or Loki was playing some new trick. So who cared?

 Except. Thor was 6 foot plus change of gorgeous, blond, muscled hunk, but somehow Darcy thought of him as a teddy bear. And it’s creepy to think your teddy bear is judging you. She wasn’t disdainful! Or any of that stuff! If he had said it to her face, she could have argued back. But she couldn’t even do that without admitting she had been listening. She shouldn’t have listened.

 But Pepper and Bruce spoke up for her. The thought warmed her more than the tea. But then realization hit with a lurch. They didn’t think the idea Loki was in love was so crazy.

 Why was she panicking about this? Let’s just say it’s true. (Thor sounded so, so sure...) So what? Didn’t sound like it was something new. Hadn’t stopped him being an asshole (until today. _Maybe._ ) But who cares? The only thing that was different was she knew.

  _I’m afraid of what will happen._

 Of what? What might happen? Darcy’s mind refused to cooperate. Okay. Too difficult. Concentrate on what to do.

 No-one was going to tell her how to feel. But, yeah, she’d drop being “disdainful”. If god-boy wanted to be nice, she wouldn’t kick him in the face. But that was as much as he was going to get.  

 Darcy went to bed early, but it took a long time to get asleep.

 

* * *

 

Sunshine, green fields. Thor spins with Jane in his arms, they laugh, kiss. Pepper wears a daisy chain crown. Tony sprawls next to her in the grass, grinning, brushing away her hands as she tries to put daisies in his beard. A rug, spread beneath a birch tree, a picnic, her back against the tree, Erik passes food to her, smiling faces.

Thor looks behind her, his pupils contract. “Brother!” She feels a pale hand slip into hers, but it's not a hand, it's a root, roots coming up out of the earth, twining around her wrists and legs and arms, she sees Erik’s face twisted in horror, hears Jane scream, she can’t get away, the birch creaks and opens and she’s pulled in and she can’t breathe _she can’t breathe_

  

Darcy came to, sitting bolt upright in bed, her blood thundering in her ears, heart thumping in her chest.

“SHIT.”

She looks at the clock. It’s 5:30. “Shit.”

 

Fine. She was afraid of being eaten alive. He was damn attractive and he dangled that in her face, and sure, she felt it. But she was fighting it every inch of the way. She had everything to lose. Her greatest weapon was her conviction he despised her. She was afraid of what would happen if that weapon was lost to her.

 Could she survive being close to him? Remain herself? She had believed Thor once that his brother wasn’t the same person who had attacked them in New Mexico. She wasn’t convinced of it now. How could Thor blame her for being wary of someone who had tried to kill him, and for whom Darcy's death would have been no more important than that of a fly? 

 As light filtered into her room, determination grew inside her. She was not going to run for cover. She was not going to worry about what people said. She was going to go into work, and stand her ground.

* * *

 

She looked like shit. She knew it, and the look Erik gave her as she got to her desk, coke in hand, showed he thought the same.

 “I shall never understand why Americans insist on going to work when they are ill. You cannot work properly and you will only give your illness to the rest of us. You should be at home.”

 Darcy smiled into his concerned face. “Don’t worry, dad. I’m not sick, honest.”

 Erik obviously did not believe her.

 Fortified by sugar and caffeine, she went to the workstation in the middle of the floor and waited. Loki paused and turned to face her. “Well met, Ms. Lewis,” he said but something in his expression suggested he thought she looked like shit too. Like he was understudying Erik.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Ms. Lewis.” He spoke soberly, matching her tone.

“Could you stop calling me Ms. Lewis? Ms. Lewis is my mom. Well, my mom isn’t actually Ms Lewis, but you get what I mean.”

“So I should call you by your given name?”

Yes, that was the logical alternative. Everyone called her Darcy. Nick Fury called her Darcy the one time she had met him. JARVIS called her Darcy. Starbuck baristas she had met five seconds before scrawled her name onto a cup and yelled it aloud, and she didn’t turn a hair. But somehow, it felt too intimate when she thought of him doing it. Like he was getting too close.

“You always used to use nicknames. I’d rather that.”

And she didn’t care who would think that weird, what message it was giving, it was what she wanted.

He frowned a little, and then raised his eyes to hers.

“As you wish, Wildcat.”

“Thank you.”

As she walked away, she felt giddy with relief.

 

* * *

She thought she felt him looking at her, but every time she checked he was intent on his work. He didn’t speak to her, and Darcy was glad. She had a lot to do after the filing fail last night and her tiredness made concentration difficult.

 

Just before lunchtime Jane came over, Erik at her elbow.  

“Go home, Darcy.”

 “I’m fine, honest. And you have…”

Erik butted in. “Loki must go to SHIELD this afternoon. Everything else we can handle. Go home.”

Darcy frowned. “For real? There was nothing down in the diary. Why is he going there?”

Erik shrugged. “How should I know?”

“And what does it matter anyway?” said Jane. “Things change. Go home Darcy. That’s an order.”

“Okay then, boss-lady,” Darcy grinned. “I’ll just finish this and I’ll go. Pinky promise.”

“Mind you do,” Jane mock-threatened.

 

 As Erik and Jane headed for lunch, Darcy focused on her screen. It was only when she gathered together the files that she noticed the cup of coffee on the corner of her desk. She picked it up – hot. So not Jane or Erik. But who…?

 Loki’s workstation was empty. She hadn’t heard him leave.

 Darcy paused a moment, then sipped the coffee. Okay, things were still weird. But maybe it was going to be okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This didn't exactly end up as I expected, but it's closer to the play because of it, so there's that. 
> 
> Also occurs to me I should have called this Much Ado About Coffee. 
> 
> The bit about turning into a tree is from that other great Norse mythology source, The Almighty Johnsons :) 
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Thor gets abridged versions of Hero's lines from Act 3, scene 1, in which Hero talks about Beatrice's disdain and Benedick's hopeless love for the benefit of Beatrice, hidden in an arbour. (She says some pretty harsh things, coached by Don Pedro as per Act 2, scene 1). By the end of it, Beatrice decides she will love Benedick. So just a bit different...


	7. Phony War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The damn balloon went up."  
> [phony war](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/phony+war) n  
> 1\. (in wartime) a period of apparent calm and inactivity, esp the period at the beginning of World War II  
> 2\. (in peacetime) a contrived embattled atmosphere; mock war

“So what happens now?” said Pepper. “With Project Cupid,” she added, as a wicked glint shone in Tony’s eye. Bruce had just left after their shared dinner, and the couple was lounging on the couch in the dim firelight.

 “The most difficult part of any plan,” Tony reached across and twirled a lock of her hair. “We do nothing. Sit back, watch, wait for the balloon to go up.”

“No tinkering, no interfering?” Pepper teased.

“I, Pep, am an expert at masterly inactivity.”

“That’s certainly true,” and Pepper squeaked as Tony pounced on her with a wide grin.

 

* * *

For a few days after Darcy’s half day off, Loki treated her with kid gloves. Then the dance started, Loki teasing, Darcy shutting him down.

 “It’s like a minuet” said Bruce in the canteen one day. “Coming closer, backing off, circling each other.”

“Not one I remember from my mis-spent youth,” Tony drawled, leaning back in his chair. “But then I did enjoy the 80s a little too much.”

Bruce grinned. “I meant a little further back in history. You know, when the ladies had the big hair” he mimed a bouffant above his head “and the men wore makeup.”

Tony shrugged. “Sounds like the 80s to me.”

 

* * *

Work was going very well. Having Tony on the spot definitely helped clear up engineering issues more quickly, but the main progress now was due to Jane. She was working with a focus that Darcy hadn’t seen since Thor had vanished and Jane was trying to re-establish the Einstein Rosen Bridge.

Darcy looked at her friend, wondering. On the one hand Jane loved her work, was consumed by it even. If she was getting close to a breakthough… But on the other Darcy knew that work was her friend’s go-to coping mechanism, the equivalent of Darcy’s tea, trash TV and YouTube videos. Was she okay or wasn’t she?

 But hey, if something was bothering Jane, she’d tell Darcy when she was ready.

* * *

“So, when securing the bridge, and ensuring it can’t be tapped into, the dimensions are the most important factor to consider.” After four years of Pol Sci, Darcy was the best writer in the lab. While everyone wrote up their own results, Darcy was in charge of executive summaries (or “talking down to cretins nicely” as Tony called it.)

“Indeed,” Loki agreed, his eyes growing mischievious.

“Would you not agree, Wildcat? That dimensions are very important? As I think you say here, ‘size matters’?”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed, but the light of battle in them was still plain to see. 

“Some might think so. But I think positioning is much more important.” She leaned back in her chair and smirked. “After all, who wants a wormhole that’s flopping around all over the place?”

“Ah,” Loki purred, “But that has never been a problem in Asgard. We pride ourselves on our...precision.”

“Well, I guess if you say so, I have to believe it.”

“If you wish for proof you need only ask.”

Darcy leaned forward, a sultry look in her eye “You're offering a proof? Okay then.”

A faint look of surprise crossed Loki's face as Darcy stood up, all business and looked over at Tony, unabasedly eavesdropping. Darcy raised her voice. “Hey Tony, since you’re obviously not busy, could you check a proof for me?” A thumb indicated Loki. “I’d do it myself but it might hurt my little brain. Everyone knows humanities grads just don’t do ‘rigor’.”

 With an eyebrow raise to Loki, she stalked off, leaving Tony with his mouth open.

“I think she might have heard what you said yesterday,” said Bruce innocently, eyes twinkling.

“No shit. Don’t know why she’s taking it personally.”

“No?”

“No, I don’t think of her as a humanities grad.”

“What _do_ you think of her as?”

“I dunno. Force of nature?”

 Loki listened to the banter and a smile hovered around the corners of his mouth. 

* * *

Thor was also acting odd. He seemed to be dropping in all the time now, especially after five when Bruce and Tony left. Maybe he was concerned about Jane too.

 All things considered, their visiting alien gods were both acting out of character.

 “Do Asgardians get affected by the moon like werewolves? Or planetary positions or something?” she asked Loki absently one day, watching Thor and Jane talk at the other end of the room.

Loki paused. “You ask strange questions.”

“It would be so much easier to explain if you would only watch Star Trek. Original Series – the classic. You won’t regret it.”

Loki looked unconvinced. “Doubtless. As to your question, we are slave to no such urges.” He smirked. “Other than ones humans are also slave to.”

“Shut up.” Her words lacked heat, her attention still focused at the other end of the room. The discussion was getting tense. Loki followed her focus and shrugged. 

“So that is why you ask? It is a lover’s quarrel, nothing more.”

“Yeah, course it is.”

This wasn’t a fairy tale. Just because you hooked up with a prince didn’t mean it was all happily ever after.

 

* * *

The lab had settled into a routine, hard work punctuated by back-chat and gallons of coffee. They were close to something, and Darcy’s attempts to put it into non-science language for the top brass in SHIELD left her distracted, so distracted she almost walked into Loki’s coffee-cup.

 “See, if you said ‘please’ I might hear you.”

“But then I would not have the pleasure of you scolding me.” His face looked innocent if you didn’t look at his eyes.

“I’m not here for your pleasure.” (Darcy mentally face-palmed at the opening she’d left.)

“But you please me all the same.”

“Seriously? That’s all you got?” Darcy pulled a face at him and headed coffee-wards.  

 

 

Tony and Bruce left as usual at five, leaving Darcy, Erik, Jane and Loki in the lab. The silence was broken by the doors being pushed open. Three SHIELD agents followed Thor into the lab.

 “Stand away from your desks,” Thor ordered.

 Jane came forward. “What’s going on?” One of the SHIELD agents came forward. “Agent Moore. I apologize, Dr Foster, but we need to check this lab. It’s just routine.”

Jane rumpled her hair. “We’re busy, we don’t have time…”

“Your contract says that SHIELD may inspect participating labs at any time without notice.”

Erik had left his desk. He touched Jane’s arm, they exchanged a few words. “Okay then, but please don’t take any longer than necessary.” Jane was not happy. She moved towards Thor but he moved away, up the room, to direct the search.

 The agents rummaged casually around the files and among the pop-tarts in the cupboard. They glanced over Tony and Bruce’s desk and Loki’s workstation, as Loki and Darcy watched from the centre of the floor. But Darcy’s and Erik’s and Jane’s desks got a thorough going over.

 Jane tapped her foot. “This is outrageous.” She spoke directly to Thor. “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” Thor ignored her.

 The agents moved on, watched by the lab staff.  Next was the test room where Jane was in agonies, watching them examine her equipment. Again she appealed to Thor and again he ignored her.

 The safety equipment, the gas-masks in case the Halotron system was tripped, the stores.

“This locker – who has the key?”

“I do.” Jane passed it over. “Please get this farce over with. You’ve disrupted the work of this lab long enough.”

The agent opened the door, cautiously examined the contents.

“So only you have a key?”

“Sure, I think so.” Jane looked at Erik, who nodded. Darcy stood further back, Loki behind her, watching the search. It didn’t feel real to her. None of this could be happening.  

“So can you explain what this is doing here?” The agent drew out a weapon, unquestionably of alien design. He placed it in a containment box, and returned to the locker, removing other artifacts.

“I never saw that before in my life.”

“Lies.” Thor spoke under his breath but everyone in the lab heard him clearly. He took over the questioning.

“You have no authorization to have this, is that not so?”

 “This looks not like lovers meeting.” Darcy heard Loki’s whisper and the feeling of unreality only increased. 

Jane was standing directly in front of Thor now, looking directly into his face. “I am telling you, I have never seen it before.”

“Tell us where you obtained it. How you obtained it.”

“I didn’t. What kind of game is this? You know me.” 

Thor thundered over her. “Do I? Answer truly to your name.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you well, and your name is traitor! A traitor to your world and a traitor to me!” His anger was electric in the room.

 “Listen,” Jane said, “Just listen…” Her hand reached out to Thor’s arm.

“Do not touch me!” Thor reacted, a push rather than a blow and Jane was propelled backwards. She collided with the corner of the test room with a sickening crunch.

“No!” All conscious thought deserted Darcy and she launched herself at Thor. She wanted to hit him, to stop him, to punish him for hurting Jane. But she moved only a fraction of the distance; suddenly there was pressure around her arms and waist, pulling her back. Thor stepped towards her, dangerous, terrifying. She had forgotten just how big he really was, just how powerful. 

A voice spoke softly next to her ear. “Breathe, Wildcat.” Darcy let out her breath in a gasp.

A sneer came across Thor’s face. “Good. You look to your doxy, brother, and let me deal with mine.” He swept out of the room.

The grip on Darcy loosened, was gone. Loki spoke just one word.

“Jane.”

“Oh my god!” Erik, sensible and practical as ever, had already run for the first-aid kit. He was holding a wad of gauze to Jane’s head but it was soaked through. Blood, Jane’s blood, was pooling on the floor. He looked a warning at Darcy as she rushed to Jane’s side. “Do not move her. It’s serious.”

The room suddenly seemed to be full of agents. One appeared next to Erik. “A med team are on their way. Step away and let me stabilize her.” Darcy and Erik were moved away from Jane and back to where Loki stood, serious and silent.

The emergency team arrived quickly, and efficiently transferred Jane to a stretcher. Agent Moore barred Darcy’s way as she tried to follow.

“Where will you take her? I’ll go with her”. The agent shook her head.

“I’m sorry. Dr Foster is going to the secure SHIELD medical facility until the investigation is over.”

“Investigation? Of what Thor did?” Darcy faced the agent, eye-to-eye, anger mounting.

“Of the presence of unapproved alien artifacts in this lab.” Darcy gasped, shock written clearly on her face.  "But..."

 Moore waved her to silence. “You all need to stay here for now. We need to talk to you.” She beckoned and another agent came over. “Prince Loki, please accompany my colleague. We want you to answer some questions.”

Loki gave one last serious look at Erik and he was gone.

Darcy was still, anger gone, staring at the corner of the test room. Erik came to her side, put his arm around her and ushered her to the door. Agent Moore blocked them again.

“Sorry sir. You’ll have to wait.”

Erik pulled himself up, narrowed his eyes and adopted the tone he used on cocky undergrads who were a lot less clever than they thought they were.

“I have already seen one colleague go to hospital. I do not wish to see another. We are willing to co-operate but you must find another place for us to wait. Immediately.”

Darcy was not listening. Now Jane was gone she couldn’t stop looking at the blood.

 

* * *

They sat in the small meeting room. One of the agents brought tea and coffee. First Erik was called for questioning, then Darcy. Finally they were allowed to leave.

On the way back to Darcy’s apartment, Darcy talked about how stupid SHIELD were. Erik listened.

“They can’t believe Jane has done something wrong. How can they think that?”

He looked at her somberly. “I understand your feelings…but we must consider the possibility, however slight, that it is true.”

Erik saw her into her apartment, got her a blanket, made her tea and fussed over her until she told him she was fine, that he could go.

 Soon after he left the tears came. 

 

* * *

“Tony, what happened?” Pepper rushed in to find Tony and Bruce seated at the table, faces grim. Tony got up to meet her and her breath caught when she saw the pain and guilt in his eyes.

“I couldn’t say over the phone. Nat told me. The balloon went up, Pepper. The damn balloon went up and it’s all gone to hell.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  This does the same job as the Act 4, scene 1 (up to Claudio's exit). In that scene Hero is left at the altar by Claudio and accused of being an "approved wanton", an accusation that brings shame on her and her family. Only one parallel line - Benedick says, "This looks not like a nuptial"  
> Shakespeare being a kind man lets us know exactly what is behind this accusation and what's really going on. Unlike, say, me.


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The irony was not lost on him that mere weeks ago, he would have drunk in her tears like wine, gloried in the sweet taste of victory over her. But not now. "

When she opened the door Loki’s breath caught in his throat for a moment. He had never seen Darcy cry. Never once in all their battles had she let him see her tears. The irony was not lost on him that mere weeks ago, he would have drunk in her tears like wine, gloried in the sweet taste of victory over her. But not now. 

He spoke gently. “Have you wept all this time?”

Darcy nodded.

“I do not wish that.”

“Me neither. I look a mess when I cry. But I can’t seem to stop.”

Loki hunted for words. “I believe Jane wronged”

“I wish everyone thought that. And now she’s in that SHIELD secure place and...” Darcy gulped back more words, which would only make her cry again. Instead she focused on the green eyes, counted every fleck, until she calmed down.

“How may I help her, and you?”

“There is nothing you can do.”

Loki shook his head and let disbelief seep into his voice “Nothing a god can do?”

Darcy shivered as if cold and wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. “Nothing you can do.”

“Why, Wildcat? Why may I not show you my friendship?”

They stood in silence. Loki cursed himself, his inability to comfort her, the pain he had caused her in the past which meant he could not help her now. In his turmoil, he murmured the words aloud that had been in his thoughts for days.

“I love nothing so well as you.”

Darcy’s head shot up, shock wiping out everything else. She stared at Loki, who could only pin on a smile and weakly murmur, “Is that not strange?”

Darcy shook her head as if trying to clear it. “Word games. Always with the word games. I could say I love _nothing_ just as much as you and be telling the truth.” She put her face in her hands. “It doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

She took her face out of her hands to find Loki suddenly close, very close. “Or that I do. It’s ambiguous. Could mean either. That’s the point.”

Loki pushed the door closed behind him without taking his eyes off her face.

“Say you do not love me.”

“I...I can’t do this now. I’m thinking about Jane. I’m going to make some tea.”

She backed away towards the kitchen and slowly, slowly Loki followed, eyes never leaving her face. “You love me.”

“Don’t you dare play with me. Not now.” Darcy had reached the counter and backed quickly around it. Then she yanked the larder unit open as far as it would go. Loki found his path blocked by wire shelves full of cans and packets. He moved sideways, staying parallel to Darcy on the other side of the counter, as she filled the kettle and switched it on.

“Look at me, Wildcat.” Feeling more secure now there was a counter between them, Darcy looked.

Loki spoke slowly and clearly, not a trace of mockery in his voice. “I swear by the Nine Realms that you love me, and I would swear to any creature in the Nine Realms that I love you”

“You’re crazy” Darcy declared, and then added, almost under her breath, “but so am I.”

“How so?” The kettle boiled. Darcy turned and reached for the kettle, only for her hand to be caught gently by his and stroked as if it was a tiny animal that needed to be soothed.

“Tell me.”  It was easier to do it. 

“I think I have feelings for you.” She met his eyes again. “See, totally crazy.”

She wrenched her hand away, abandoned all thoughts of tea and moved to the larder, shoving it back hard. “So now you can take it back and laugh. Go on.”

Her move towards the door was cut short as he took her by the waist and swung her across to sit on the counter.

“Never.” His hands cupped her face, so softly and the green eyes looked directly into hers. “I swear by my life, by Heimdal’s sword.” He could feel her head shake once under his fingers. “I protest I love you. Tell me that you love me. Please.”

He dropped his hands and drew back. In the space he gave her Darcy’s head drooped. So quietly he could hardly hear it, she said the words. “I love you, Loki.”

He came close, bent his head to look into her face and gently touched her cheek. His eyes met Darcy's, warm green like a forest in Spring. She had never realized that his lips were always tense, until now as they curved, relaxed and oh so tempting. His fingers cooled her hot cheeks but only drove the heat deep inside her. She wanted him to go. She wanted him to stay. She wanted…she didn’t know what she wanted.

His fingers moved against her cheek, stroking it. “Darcy, my lady, I am in your service. Bid me do anything for you.”

 Darcy suddenly knew what she wanted, what she had been wishing for, dreaming for as she wept for her friend. Cold as stone, the words came from her lips.

 “Kill Thor.”

His fingers stiffened. A sudden frost took the forest, and preserved it in ice.

 “Not for the wide world.”

 Darcy laughed a bitter laugh. “That didn’t last long, did it?”

 “I love you true, but I cannot do this.”

 “It didn’t bother you too much before.”

 She shook off his hands, pushed him away, slipped inelegantly off the counter.  “Oh, just let me go. Well done trickster, you certainly fooled me.”

 “No!” The word burst from his lips. Then more gently, “Wait a little, let us talk on this.”

 “Just go. Or if you won’t, I will.” She headed towards the door.

 Loki moved like quicksilver to stand between her and the exit. “We’ll be friends first.”

 Darcy sneered. “Yes, easier to be friends with me than fight my enemy.”

 “Is he your enemy?”

 “How can you ask that?” The words flowed from Darcy in a rush. “He speaks, the great hero of Asgard and they all believe him. Even Erik isn’t sure. Even Erik! But I KNOW her, Loki. I know her through and through. It’s insane, crazy. It’s all lies. He can’t get away with it.”

 Loki went to touch her but she shrugged him off. “We haven’t looked in that locker for months. Anyone could have put that stuff there. HE could have. She forgets to eat and sleep but she never forgets him. And now he abuses her and hurts her.” Darcy started to shake. “Her blood was all over the floor. She may die, Loki.”

 The tears were flowing again now. She was, he thought, like the wildcat he had called her, a wildcat in pain, confused, striking out.

“If I was a god…the things I would do… I’d toss him into a black hole. I’d chain him on a star to burn. I’d dangle him over the deepest abyss and make him beg...”

 “And then what?” Loki stood, calm and still, eyes indecipherable, watching her.

 “I...”

 “You are dangling him over the pit.” Loki spoke clearly, calmly. “What do you do? Do you let him go? Curse him if he does not scream as he falls? Leave him to torment without end?” 

Darcy looked at him, the conflict visible on her face. Suddenly she crumpled. “No. No, I wouldn’t”. Her legs collapsed, leaving her on the ground like a child, wailing as if her heart was broken. Loki moved as she moved and knelt beside her on the floor. He tentatively touched her back and she turned to him, small and broken. He gathered her into his arms, laid his head on top of hers and hushed her, speaking words that Frigga had crooned to a small boy crying long ago.

 They stayed like this until the storm broke. As the tears came more slowly, he felt her start to draw away, ashamed, he thought, of her outburst as long ago he had been. He let her go, but put a hand gently to her face, drawing it up like a flower and tried to wipe away her tears with his long fingers.

 “All will be well, my lady, all will be well. Do not sorrow so.”

 He bent his head and kissed her cheek, kissing away the tears. He bent to kiss her other cheek, but Darcy was quick and lifted her head. Suddenly she was kissing him, her lips all soft and salt and passion. And it was probably not wise, was certainly not wise, but he could not draw away. They moved together, his hands tangling in her hair. Her hands set his nerve endings aflame as finally they touched him, down his face and to his shoulders as the kiss deepened, lighting a fire that consumed them both. A slow fire, as is set in the night watches, that burns long until the morning.

* * *

They slept, Darcy asleep on his shoulder, bodies curved close together, and he dreamed.

The people of the east did not value mere words, only poems and tales, and such arts as Bragi ruled. But the people of the western fjords and of the rainy isles beyond were different. They loved speech; poems and tales and song, but also wit and trickery and ambiguity.

He dreamed of a night watch in the settlement by the northern sea. In his dream the seven hills were shrouded in mist and the rain drifted down gently, the white nights long over. But the watch was never silent, even at the darkest hour. There was always a faint murmur of voices; sometimes a line of poetry or snatch of song broke the silence. And in his dream the clouds cleared and the stars came out, and the lights of the Bifrost lit up the sky. Then the sun rose, gilding the mountains in his dream, and he woke.

Why had he stayed away so long? Why had the shadows in Asgard been his choice instead? He had never understood why the All-Father wished to chain him to Midgard. Odin had chosen to explain it to no-one, not even Frigga. It seemed the all-seeing one had truly seen all.

He had forgotten. He had no ties of blood or nurture to this strange world, yet he had once felt at home here. And just for this moment, as Darcy slept in his arms, he felt that way again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reads, kudos, comments and especially for the comments. Sorry for the trauma :) 
> 
> I've just realized, I'm going to find it tough to get this up by the end of the month if I don't get a move on. So here's the next installment. As those who know the play would have guessed, nothing about Thor and Jane. That'll be picked up in the next chapter. 
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Act 4, scene 1, only Benedick and Beatrice present. In my opinion the hottest dialogue Shakespeare ever wrote.  
> This chapter follows the Shakespeare pretty closely. Even some lines make it through unchanged. But there are differences. The big moment for Benedick was when he agreed to do what Beatrice wanted and fight Claudio. The big moment for Loki is NOT agreeing to kill Thor, despite Darcy asking him to.


	9. Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Aha! The thick plottens. So how did the alien gizmos get out, Nancy Drew?"

Loki set down the takeaway coffee cup and muffin, kneeled next to the bed and stroked Darcy’s cheek. “Darcy, I must go.”

Darcy yawned and opened her eyes blearily. “Why, what’s the rush?”

“I must be about my lady’s business,” and the green eyes gleamed. “If I might be so bold to whisper in her ear, I would advise against killing Thor.”

“Sure.” Darcy gulped a little. “Thanks for, you know, talking me down. I’m glad you didn’t do what I asked …” The wicked grin arrested her in her tracks. “Hey, that doesn’t set a precedent you know!”

“Doubtless. But in this case, we would miss Thor if he was gone, would we not? And think of the diplomatic implications.” He dropped the mischief like a cloak. “And the events of yesterday were not natural. You know Jane, but I know Thor.”

Darcy considered this. “Something or someone got to Thor? Can you find out? Can you fix it?”

Loki put on a look of surprise. “How can you doubt it? Set a trickster to catch a trickster. I will find out what I can. Rest, eat and be well.”

* * *

Natasha finished her black coffee. Tony and Pepper had invited her and Bruce to breakfast. She was not surprised. Luckily, she could talk to them. 

“I have news for you. Fury has given me unofficial authorization to set up a special investigative team. I thought of you. Acceptable to everyone?"

Bruce and Pepper nodded. "Sure, but will it be to him?" Tony asked.

“I have a free hand, he has total deniability, that’s close enough. Quick précis of the facts. Alien artifacts were found in Jane Foster’s lab in a location only she had access to. During the search she was injured in an emotional confrontation with Thor.”

“Why was Thor even there?” asked Tony.

“The operation was initiated by Thor. He has been assisting where SHIELD store these artifacts and noticed some missing. It seems he approached Moore at the last minute to join the team. She shouldn’t have said yes.  I think she was a little star-struck, it happens to us all.” 

Tony grinned. "Sure it does."

“Why did Thor think Jane was responsible?” Pepper had a little line between her brows as she listened intently.

“Thor didn’t clearly say. That wouldn’t be unnatural in the circumstances. And he wasn’t pressed to explain himself.  Turning to Jane, she is now in a secure location, and awake. She has moderate brain trauma and the doctors are optimistic she’ll make a full recovery.” She held up a hand to forestall questions.  “I remind you this information is not to leave this room.  As far as everyone else is concerned, Jane is seriously ill in a coma.”

She paused. “Of course the early treatment helped. It was a good thing our agents were on hand due to Project Cupid.”

Pepper saw the weight lift off Tony and smiled a brilliant smile across to Natasha.

“So, the situation is this. The investigative team led by Moore is to find out how the artifacts were taken and who is responsible.”

“So what do we do?” Bruce asked, around a mouthful of croissant.

“We look at another angle. Thor’s behavior in the lab was uncharacteristic. I have received information that he has been behaving unusually for some weeks. Thoughts?”

Tony looked at Bruce, who shrugged. “We don’t really talk to him much. Not day to day.”

“Okay. Pepper, Tony, can you talk to Darcy and Erik? Moore’s team asked about Jane’s behavior over the past few weeks but not Thor’s. We need to know if things changed and when. Keep it casual.”

Pepper nodded. “We were going to check on her anyway.”

Natasha handed files to Bruce.  “Copies of the SHIELD medical files for Thor. Luckily he had a full work-over two weeks ago. If you need specific tests done or a new workup we can arrange them – he’s been cautioned and is off active service until this is cleared up. SHIELD med didn’t notice anything wrong, you might.”

“On it.”

Natasha paused. “I think we should meet this evening. Where?”

Tony shook his head. “Nat, Nat, Nat. Until this is over, mi casa es tu casa. Just keep out of my workshop. And my wine.”

* * *

When Thor had brought him first to Midgard, SHIELD had suggested in a casual way that Loki might talk with Dr Kirsten Anderson. They asked a little too often for the casualness to be convincing. She was, Loki understood, Swedish by birth, academically distinguished, an expert on violent and antisocial humans.

He was not interested then. He was still not interested, but arranging to meet Dr Anderson was the only circumstance in which he could get inside SHIELD headquarters, and therefore was his best chance to talk to Fury.

The tap on his door meant the escort was here. He was surprised to see the Widow among them. She sat in the back of the auto with him, the other two agents sitting in the front.

“So, do you really want to see the doctor? Or are you wasting our time again?”

“Of what interest could that be to you?” He spoke without looking at her.

“I have a wide range of interests. Her time is valuable. Last time you got into the building, then refused to see her. Before we go to that trouble again, we need to know your intentions.”

“Very well.” Loki considered his strategy. “I will speak to her, but I must see Director Fury.”

The Widow shrugged. “The doctor is for your benefit. I fail to see why granting you a second favor should be necessary before you avail of the first.”

“A gesture of good will? I must speak with him.”

She raised an eyebrow at urgency in his voice. “Very well. I’ll see what I can do.”

When the car stopped she got out alone and went into SHIELD headquarters. When she returned, she had a paper in her hand.

“Ten minutes, in return for six therapy sessions with Dr Anderson. Sign here or we turn around and go back to Stark Tower.”

It seemed he was not in a good bargaining position. “Agreed.”

 Inside SHIELD headquarters, Loki was surprised to see Erik arguing at the front desk. He looked a request at the Widow. She raised her eyebrows.

“You have my word.”

The Widow swept across and fixed the agent at the desk with a steely gaze. “He’s with me,” she said.

* * *

Fury was waiting for them in an anonymous meeting room.

“Dr Selvig, Prince Loki, sit. Now, how can I help?” Fury steepled his fingers and waited.

“I would rather not sit.” Erik spoke calmly but his shaking fingers gave away the strong emotion he was feeling.

“Yesterday you took my colleague, Dr Jane Foster, from our lab, seriously injured. I cannot learn where she is or what her condition is. I understand that under the circumstances, an investigation is required. But it is not acceptable that she vanish. You seem to presume her guilty already.”

Fury gave nothing away. “And you, Prince Loki?”

“I believe Jane Foster did no wrong. There is something deeper to this. Your wisdom is led astray if you assume her guilt.”

“I see. If you could both do me the courtesy of sitting down, I have something to tell you. And it is not to leave this room without my express permission.”

They sat. Fury sat back.

“I don’t think Dr Foster is guilty. Ah!” he held up a finger as Erik started to speak. “It’s my turn now. You might think me a fool, but I do have experience, years of experience of bad shit going down. Traitors, mind control, anything you care to name. I saw the footage of what happened; I don’t think Dr Foster put those artifacts there.”

“So why is she in custody?” Erik would not be denied. “Why can we get no word of her?”

Fury nodded. “The thing is, I’m a lucky man. I don’t have to convince anyone else to do what I think is wise. And what I think is wise right now is taking Dr Foster out of general circulation. I don’t like someone being set up and SHIELD being used as a cat’s paw. I don’t like seeing someone working for us getting injured.” Fury paused. “Do you want to see her. Dr Selvig?”

“Is she well enough?”

“Yes, though I’d appreciate you not spreading that around. If anyone asks, she’s still in a coma. Is that perfectly clear?”

“And Darcy Lewis? Might she see her also?” Fury turned at Loki's words, calculation in his eye.

“I don’t see why not. If you think she can keep her mouth shut.”

Both nodded. Fury shrugged.

“Then, Dr Selvig, why don’t you go pick her up. The agent outside will arrange your transport. And mind, not a word of this visit to anyone other than the people in this room and Darcy Lewis.”

“Thank you.” Erik nodded, stood. He turned to Loki, paused a moment. “Thank you.” And he was gone.

 “I notice you haven’t left, Prince Loki.”

“I notice that I was not dismissed.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“I did wonder how you saw yesterday’s events.”

Their eyes met. “Our agents always operate with cameras on. It comes in useful.”

“Unfortunate. If there were cameras in the lab then you could be certain of Dr Foster’s innocence. And perhaps know where those artifacts came from.” Loki spoke pointedly, but Fury shook his head.

“True. Sadly we don’t. Perhaps we should get some put in. Though we’d have to neutralize Tony Stark first.” Fury did not look unhappy at the prospect.

“Your agents arrived very promptly.”

“That was nothing to do with me. They were in the building on a different matter. If I’d known about this in advance, Thor would never have gone into that lab.”

Loki switched tack. “You saw my brother.”

“Yes.”

“It is clear he has been manipulated or deceived.”

“It certainly looks like it.”  Fury shifted in his chair. “I understand you have concerns. I suggest you speak to Natasha Romanov. After your session with Dr Anderson of course. You’d better go now or you’ll miss it.”

* * *

 Loki went, but was not inclined to cooperate. “I trust you will transcribe my words accurately for the Director.”

Doctor Anderson smiled. “If he sees your files, I will be sure to show you his.”

Loki raised a brow at that. Though Swedish, her voice had a slight Scottish accent and it sounded deadly serious.

“You might also be reassured to know that, due to technical reasons I won’t go into, controlling my mind would be fatal to me.” Serious, but not unsarcastic.  

She was strong and she amused him. And since he was bound here by his word, and because under no circumstances would he speak of his mother, or his life on Asgard, or the time after he fell, he told the doctor tales of his time in her homeland when gods and giants roamed there.

* * *

Darcy was tired. Her day had been spent in the hospital, seeing Jane when the hospital staff permitted it; drinking bad coffee, chatting with Erik and playing with her cell when they didn’t.

A grin spread over her face as she saw Loki waiting at her door.

“Hey you! Have you been waiting long?” she said as she opened the door.  

He smiled back down at her. “My vigil was a short one. Natasha Romanov told me you were returning.”

Once the door was closed it was safe to ask. “How is Jane?”

“Okay I guess. The hospital staff seems happy. She’s still a bit confused, she thinks that we’re in New Mexico and she’s crashed the van. Erik had to go because she insisted he check if the equipment was damaged. Think he had stuff to get from the lab anyway.”

Kettle on, she smiled cheekily. “And they both have a message for you.”

She stepped over to Loki, put her arms around his neck and gave him three swift kisses on his mouth. “That’s from Jane, Erik and me. Erik wouldn’t say much, but he said we got to visit because of you. Thank you.”

Her grin was full of joy, her eyes wide. He could not remember when someone had last looked at him with unalloyed joy. For too long it had come coupled with other things: contempt, calculation, concern. It was intoxicating. He took a lock of her hair, and twined it around his fingers while an impish look came into his face.

“It is very kind of you to deliver this message but I must decline it.”

She tilted her head and her grin never wavered.

“It seems to me disrespectful to kiss Dr Selvik on the lips.”

She laughed, and pulled her brow down into an unconvincing frown. “But from Jane it’s just fine? _I_ see.”

“No, it is true of Dr Foster also. So I see only one thing I can do.”

He paused as he studied the planes of her mouth, her face, her neck.

“I must return these kisses to you as carefully as I am able.”

The return of the kisses took much longer than their delivery. It was morning before he told her of how he had spent his day.

* * *

In contrast, the meeting at the top of Stark Tower was all business despite the boxes of takeaway Chinese littering the table.

"We both talked to Darcy straight after the last meeting." Pepper said.

 "Kid's doing okay," Tony added. 

"Darcy says she thought Thor was acting differently for maybe the past three weeks. More distant with Darcy herself, arguing with Jane. He also visited the lab more often, asking where Jane was, that kind of thing."

Natasha nodded. "Okay. Anything from Erik?"

Tony coughed. "Ran him down trying to get stuff from the lab. Helped him out, reminded the agents who _actually_ owns the place. Erik remembers arguments and that was unusual. Same time period, the last few weeks. But he's too much of a gentleman to listen in. That's it."

"Does anyone think this goes back further?" Bruce asked slowly. "What about the D-project?"

"Thor shows brains and you're saying it's out of character? That's harsh, Bruce."

"He called Darcy disdainful" said Pepper. "The way he spoke about her, it was…not pleasant. I don't know him well, but I was surprised."

"So possibly something five weeks back." Natasha made a note. "Bruce, anything on the files?"

"Nothing much," said Bruce. "Only oddity was on the X-ray. Could be flecks on the film but I don't think so. Looks like he has some metal splinters in his hands. "

Natasha made another indecipherable note. "My report. Moore checked the SHIELD special armory. She's unimaginative but thorough. The artifacts definitely came from there. They've checked access logs and the security footage. No sign of Jane on either. In fact, no-one appears to have been near the items for weeks, until Thor discovered they were missing."

"Aha! The thick plottens." Tony raised his eyebrows at Natasha. "So how did the alien gizmos get out, Nancy Drew?"

" I need to look at the armory before I can answer that. I’ll do it tomorrow."

"Need a side-kick? _Did_ Nancy Drew have a side-kick?"

"For this, I have one already. Loki."

"Your covert team is getting rather large" drawled Tony, once the first surprise was over. "Recruiting Loki? You're full of surprises, Nat."

"He approached me. He agrees Thor was acting strangely. He wants to help. And he can handle the one angle this group has no expertise on."

"Magic!" Bruce hit the table. "I hate damn magic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reads, kudos, comments and especially for the comments. Next chapter should see the mystery solved! 
> 
> Oh, and the first time Loki said he'd see Dr Anderson was during the events of "The Second Front". That was his sudden meeting. 
> 
> In my head, Loki got his title back before he went to Midgard. 50% "we have hopes of him" 50% "not washing the dirty linen in public". 
> 
>  
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  A slight hat-tip to Act 4, scene 1, before the Benedick and Beatrice part. Much to my surprise Nick Fury is Friar Francis, though one who doesn't have to take shit from anyone.


	10. Intelligence Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome to the Donjon.”
> 
> The gang find out what's behind Thor's strange behaviour, with implications for Loki he could not have foreseen.

The confusion was gone. Jane could remember. Darcy sat next to her holding her hand, while Natasha and a nurse stood out of sight but within earshot.

“I didn’t know what it was at first. He got more possessive. He always wanted to know where I was. I thought he was jealous. He _was_ jealous. Of my work.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “He wanted me to stop. He ordered me to. I said no. It had been fine, I don't know why it changed. He used to say he was proud of me.”

The nurse stepped forward. “I think that’s enough for now,” she said to Jane. “You need to rest." Jane nodded. Darcy let go of her hand and quietly left the room.

“Was that okay?” she asked Natasha.

Natasha nodded. “I needed to know. Thank you, Darcy.”

Darcy’s face was serious and a little sad. “Thank you for helping us. And letting Loki tell me what’s going on.”

“For that, you should thank Loki.”

* * *

The rear compartment of the black van had no windows and swayed constantly as it turned this way and that. It was a featureless space cut off from the driver, filled with the music of Vivaldi and the scent of French Vanilla. When the doors finally opened, they were in an underground bunker, with shuttered steel doors to left and right. Clint Barton was perched cross legged on the concrete reception desk in front of the van. He jumped down, crossed the wide space and bowed ironically.

“Welcome to the Donjon.”

“Agent Barton, before we go in, could I look at the security footage?” Natasha asked.

“Sure, I have it lined up for you at the desk.”

Natasha went across and watched the footage of Thor, visible from the face up, face changing from neutral to surprised. Then another angle, a distance shot from behind. The driver stayed in the van, and Loki, equally impassive, waited next to it. Clint Barton continued to give his impression of a tour guide.

“To the left is the testing room, the right is storage. The entire facility is underground and all walls are ten times stronger than normal steel-enforced concrete. We have controlled entry, and every square inch is monitored by cameras, watched 24-7. All footage is digitally recorded, backed up every 30 minutes to a secure site. No access to any other networks. No-one can come in without us knowing.

“Yet someone did.”  Loki was still impassive but his tone was biting.

“Impossible. For any normal person at least.”

“Which suggests at least one suspect, doesn’t it?” Natasha interposed. “I’ve seen what I needed to see. Let’s go into storage.”

Clint headed for the shutters on the right, continuing to outline the security features as he went.

“This shutter is pretty slow as you see, but in an emergency blast doors come down within 60 seconds. Panic buttons everywhere. The entire place is rigged, so 60 seconds later everything is wiped out. Not a place you want to visit unexpectedly.”

 “Can you tell me exactly what Thor was working on here?” Natasha asked.

 “We were looking through alien stuff we’ve got, mostly from the New York incident. I was seeing if there was anything we could use. Others were looking for anything that was a serious threat. Thor was there to assist with what he knows about alien tech.”

 “You should have come to me.” Loki spoke coldly. “This is why I am here. I am the expert on such artifacts, not my brother. A warrior should not let petty dislike stand in the way of his mission.”

 Clint set his teeth, then stood directly in front of Loki, threw his head back and stared him in the eye. 

 “Let’s get one thing straight. You're right. I don't like you. I hate you. I hate that you compromised me. I hate what you made me do.

 Loki did not stir.

 “But that’s not why we didn't call on you. We didn't call on you because we didn't trust you. I'd be a fool to invite someone I didn't trust on a mission. If it were up to me you won't know about this place. You wouldn't even be on this planet.”

"Is that so?" Loki was impassive. 

“Yes, it is so. I think Fury is crazy to have the washed up wanna-be supreme ruler of Earth here. No offence. They obviously don't remember Stuttgart as well as I do. Or New York.”

 Natasha intervened. “We would like to see everything that Thor examined.”

Clint shrugged, took a tablet from a holder in the wall and called up a list. “Knock yourselves out.” He leaned against the wall and watched them.

It was half an hour later when Loki felt it, the prickling warning of dark magic. Natasha had opened an army box, metal, half full of dark soft bags. Each bag contained fifty or so metal discs, silvery in color, about the size of a half-dollar. Other than a sharp edge around them, they were featureless. According to the manifest, Thor had examined them almost six weeks ago.

Natasha noticed Loki’s reaction and called. “Barton, could you come here please?”

Clint came, looked at the box and shrugged. “I don’t know much more than the entry on the database says. The Chitauri commanders all had a bag of these. Got picked up during cleanup. Don’t look like much.”

 “Did anyone touch them?” Clint blinked a little at the urgency in Loki’s voice.

 “I guess they did. File mentions splinters, so probably the crews opened the bags and had a look. Protocol here is to use gloves.”

“Okay,” Natasha said. “We’ll check the rest of the inventory.” There was nothing else.

* * *

A single bag of the disks sat on a table in the middle of the huge concrete testing room. Loki stood and silently cursed. He cursed the bracelet around his wrist. He cursed the inadequate tools which were all he had to examine these objects. But most of all he cursed the Chitauri and their master.

Natasha had been contemplating the wall, with her back to him. She turned. “Finished?”

A single nod.

“Okay, pack up.”

* * *

Natasha crossed to where Clint Barton was crosslegged on the desk again.

“We’re finished.”

“I guess you can find your own way out.”

“We’ll be taking the sample with us. I have authorization.”

“That’s good.” Clint got off the desk in one swift movement and headed for the storage area. He clicked the control and the shutter started to rise. Natasha followed and watched him from the other side.

“Have you got something to say, Clint?”

“I didn’t need to be here. You brought him here for me to get through to him, didn’t you? That’s cold, Tasha.” The shutter rose slowly between them. She considered him a moment before answering.

“You object to using one person to fix another?” 

“I object to using me to fix him.” 

He had timed his response so the shutter would cut her off from view as he spoke. From behind a wall of metal she spoke her last words before the shutter closed entirely. “And vice versa?

By the time he got the damn shutter back down the van was gone.

* * *

 The disks had gone to Tony and Bruce for preliminary work. By four, they were ready to report. Natasha surveyed the three faces around the table.

“So, what have we got?”

Tony shrugged. “Well, it’s Chitauri , but we knew that already. Combination of elements, nothing particularly interesting. No radiation. Holds an edge but readily splinters.”

“You did not touch it?”

“Please. I was running a lab while you were still…” Tony suddenly remembered he was talking to a being centuries old. “No, I didn’t touch it.”

“The splinters seem to be drawn into the body slowly. They’re consistent with the flakes on the x-ray. And I've found more on x-rays of agents involved in the New York clean-up.” Bruce took off his glasses. “But they’re essentially harmless, as long as they stay out of the main vascular system. I reviewed Thor’s files again. No sign of any toxins, radiation, infection, anything. As far as medical science can tell, he’s clean.”

“Nothing on my end either,” Tony agreed.

“And there is magic there.” Natasha looked directly at Loki. He nodded.

“Without my skills I cannot fully test the object. But yes, there is magic, it alters minds, and it is dangerous.”

“What I have found today: Thor wanted Jane to stop working on controlled Einstein-Rosen gates. And the person who could most easily have taken the artifacts found in the lab is Thor, when he supposedly discovered them missing.” Natasha was looking at Loki again. “So what do we do now?”

“I think,” Loki spoke with reluctance. “I think these must be brought to Asgard.”

“I’ll talk to Fury.”

* * *

Loki stood in the waiting room. The hospital lights did nothing for him, Darcy decided. He looked paler than ever. Natasha stood beside him, calmly surveying the doors.  

“I must speak with you. I go to Asgard tonight.”

He told her quietly what they had found.

“You have to tell Jane! She’ll never believe me.” Darcy turned and looked at Natasha. “He can tell Jane, right?”

“If he wishes to.”

 

 

Jane passed a hand across her brow. Natasha watched her carefully. No medical staff could be allowed to hear this, and Natasha would not allow Jane’s recovery to be compromised.

“Darcy, you’re saying Thor has been cursed by an alien artifact?”

“That is accurate though perhaps not the clearest way for you to understand it.” Loki considered a moment and spoke again. “Thor touched a Chitauri disk, designed to introduce splinters into the body on contact. These shards carried advanced technology intended, once in an Aesir system, to alter the host’s consciousness, inducing paranoia, jealousy, violent impulses and feelings of persecution. I believe it was to be used if Asgard came to Midgard's defense, to infect the warriors and throw Asgard into chaos."

Jane nodded. “I see.”

Darcy did too. “So this is like alien crack?”

“I think it’s probably worse than that, Darcy.”

Loki nodded. “Yes. It is worse.”

 

 

“I’m sorry, Loki, you have to go now.” Natasha tactfully moved out of earshot and looked away as Loki said goodbye to Darcy in the waiting room. 

They stood close together for a moment, foreheads touching, her face cupped in his hands, his eyes closed. Loki murmured softly. “I will live on your lips, die in your lap, and be buried in your eyes. I will come back to you. ”

“Of course you will. Won't you?”

His eyes opened and looked into hers. The whisper was so faint Darcy could barely hear it.

“I am afraid.”  

* * *

He stood alone on the helipad at the top of Stark Tower, in the dark. Tony Stark watched from a few feet away.

"Hey Ren Fair, you okay?"

A tight nod.

"Any mystical marks left on my helipad, you clean them up with a toothbrush when you get back."

"I look forward to it." A bright false smile was suddenly surrounded in blinding light, and the helipad was empty.

* * *

He had never thought to return so soon.

 Straight from the Bifrost he came, across the rainbow bridge. He walked the golden halls, the dull metal of the bracelet still around his wrist. He felt rather than saw the eyes of others on it, the few who did not scuttle away as he approached. He waited to enter the Great Hall, dull green and black against the bright flame-coloured cloths, dark against the glory of Asgard. 

 In the Great Hall he fell to one knee, arms held in supplication as was the custom, and called aloud.  

 “I humbly beg an audience with the All-Father and the Queen of Asgard.”

 “It is granted.”

 The room was cleared. He approached the thrones and told the rulers of Asgard of what had happened to Thor and Jane and of his suspicions. He spoke of potential plans and obstacles and solutions. Odin interjected, Loki answered and soon the two were moving strategies like pieces on a board while Frigga listened, a smile playing about her lips.

 Agreement was reached. Loki knelt and asked if he might take his leave.

 Then he returned to his own chamber which remained as he had left it, save for layers of dust, and shut the door.

* * *

“You have done well.”

The next evening Frigga summoned him to her rooms. She dismissed the handmaidens and poured him mead with her own hands. Now she sat beside him

“The All-Father thinks so too.” She avoided the words “your father”. She had so little time to spend with her youngest son. She did not wish to see him flinch.

“Will he lend the helm to the mortals?”

“I think so, yes.”

“And what of the Chitauri disks?”

Sorrow crossed her face. “It did not take me long to know. I am afraid you are right.”

His mouth twisted.

“You never told us all they did to you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Of what concern is that now? Thor is lost. This has happened because of the path I took. I must make amends.”

She leant across and kissed his cheek. “I am proud of you, my son.”

* * *

Once again, he left his rooms to walk the Halls of Asgard. He entered the Great Hall in the blaze of noon, heard the hush that fell unbidden as he walked towards the thrones.

 He knelt at the bottom step, and bowed his head.

 The All-Father spoke, clearly for all to hear. “You asked aid of us and aid we shall give.”

 Frigga, in cloth of gold, held the helm before her. She handed it to an attendant, who bore it down to place in Loki's outstretched hands. Odin spoke again.

 “Go now, as our emissary to Midgard.”

 The gathered crowd shifted and were again silent.  Loki could not understand. This had not been agreed. What did it mean? He glanced up through his lashes, his head kept low. The All-father's face was calm and regal and quite impossible to read.

 “It is a chaotic realm. Will you accept the charge laid on you?”

 Loki lifted his head in the approved fashion. “Yes, I will accept it.”

 “Then go in our name; Loki, Emissary of Asgard. May better tidings come with you when you return.”

* * *

Frigga was waiting for him at the observatory when the time came to depart. She embraced him.

“Be well my son. I hope to see you soon.”

“Why?” She understood instinctively what he meant. She had once seen his astonishment when offered Gungnir, in the time when Odin slept and Thor was banished, but that was nothing to his confusion now.

“Odin wishes all to know he is proud of you, as I am.”

He nodded, giving away nothing, and turned as if to go.  

“One last word, my son. The girl, have you told her everything?”

His face closed instantly.

“You must tell her, not for her sake but your own. You know well that some secrets can poison love.”

For a moment she saw anguish in his eyes. Then it was gone.

“As you wish.”

Heimdall opened the Bifrost to Midgard. “Fare well, Emissary, and may you succeed in your endeavor.”

Loki laughed a short laugh. “Which one?”

The light took him and he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Shakespeare in here, except for a punning reference. The bad guy who sets up Hero (primarily to get at Don Pedro and Claudio) is Don John. In this, all the trouble stems from SHIELD's own [donjon](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/donjon) (a fortified tower or dungeon).  
> I'm so very very sorry.  
> Except, of course, "I will live on your lips, die in your lap, and be buried in your eyes." Thanks Glory_Jean! A line I like a lot, from Act 5, scene 2. That scene is in much the same context, where it becomes clear what's been going on. But it's got a more light-hearted feel than this.


	11. Trust But Verify

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him"
> 
> In which everybody has to trust Loki. Easier for some than others.

The room where they lounged comfortably was suddenly filled with golden light, highlighting the bottles behind the bar, every strand in Pepper's hair, every line in Tony's face. They waited after it faded, but no-one came. Puzzled, Tony sat up.

“Pep, I’m going to go look.”  

Loki was standing on the helipad, staring out at the lights of New York. Tony leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

Five minutes passed. Tony felt Pepper behind him. She whispered softly, kissed the nape of his neck and moved into another room. Loki might have been a statue, posed against the backdrop of the city.  

Tony coughed. “So, you're back.”

'Yes, I am back.' Loki did not move. Tony waited for a moment.

"Burdened by glorious purpose?"

"So you heard of that. Burdened, certainly.

Tony brushed his hair back and forth, then moved toward the steps. “Seems to me I still owe you a drink. Want it now?”

 

He successfully got Loki to the bar, and poured him a scotch.

“Enjoy. I don’t drink it any more. Someone should.”

Loki picked up the glass and swirled the golden liquid.

'What's up Loki?'

Loki lifted the glass, took a mouthful. 'I need to speak with Darcy.'

'Okay. The Scooby Gang can wait; Pep’s got that under control. Want me to call Darcy up here?'

* * *

When Darcy came in, Loki was staring into the fire, heels of his soft high boots on the seat of the leather chair, chin resting on his drawn-up knees. In the warm light he looked young, vulnerable. He didn’t move as she approached, so she sank to the floor next to the chair and touched his arm.

“What’s wrong, Loki?”

His eyes came back from the distance. 

“I am.”  He turned and looked her in the face. “A man told me once I was doomed to failure. That to lose was in my nature.”

“Who said that?” 

“I do not know. I killed him.”

“Oh.” Darcy sat back on her heels, but her hand stayed on his arm. She took a deep breath. 

“You were invading New York, right? Loki, did you ever think that the ruling and dominating thing never really works out for you?" 

Surprise and amusement won a sudden victory over the dejection in his face. "My sweet, I had decided that much before I was sent here." A smile played about the corner of his mouth. "Do you wish me to be tame?" 

"Nah, you're not safe, you're not a tame lion, I get that. But who is, in this crazy place? Tony? Natasha? That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." She paused to think, and Loki watched, fascinated to know what was happening in her head. "You succeeded before, in saving Thor and, like, the entire freaking universe. So you're not doomed to always fail in everything. You can save Thor now." Her eyes were wide and beseeching in the firelight.

"I will save Thor. But would you live with danger?" A hand moved as if to touch her cheek, but stopped before it got there. 

"I'm kinda doing that anyway. But I won't live being, like, Eva Braun or something. Yeah, Godwin, I know." She noticed Loki's slight frown of confusion. "I don't want to see you killing innocent people. I can trust you on that, right?" 

The surprise and amusement were routed by dejection, which stood triumphant. "You can. But..." the words came in a rush. “All this has come so suddenly. I thought, before this, that I had time to tell you everything, what I am. I must tell you, fully merit your trust, before this goes any further. But I cannot.”

“Sure you can.” She stroked his arm. It was rigid with tension.

“No. I could not bear…I must finish this first. Thor must be saved as I promised.” He paused. “I love you, but now we must be friends.”

“But we are friends.” And then she suddenly understood. Just friends.

He saw the hurt in her eyes and swallowed. “I am truly sorry. Once Thor is saved, I will tell you everything.” The look on his face was bleak. She was sure it matched her own.

“Just…promise me you’ll keep telling me what’s going on. With Thor and Jane. Promise.”

“You need not ask. I am still in your service. But I swear it.”

“Okay.” She got up and walked away, leaving him alone beside the fire.

 

She got to the door before Tony caught up with her.

“We’ll be talking about you know what, Darce. Wanna stay?”

“Nah, Tony, think I’ll give this one a miss. Loki can tell me later.”  

“Okay, funny face.” He ruffled her hair and let her go.

* * *

She felt numb.

 She should have known. In her checkered history with the opposite sex she’d made rules. No dates with intense boys. No romances with co-workers. No affairs with men with a whiff of danger about them. This time she’d broken all of them, only to remember why she had them in the first place.

 Even the promise that it was temporary was nothing new. Her romantic experience was not huge, but it had had more than its fair share of disaster, enough to put her off romance. Until now. She was an idiot. She should have seen it coming.

 For a second she thought perhaps it was all a trick, a trick from the very start. She felt nauseous just thinking of it. But what he had done comforted her. He had helped her, supported her. He was going to be a friend. Like Jake from college. Or Nathan from the coffee shop (and his lovely husband Pete). And that was fine with them because she loved them like brothers.

 She didn’t love Loki like a brother. Unless you were talking a redneck stereotype brother-sister thing.

 She turned to the old reliables: fluffy pajamas, television, ice-cream. The worst thing was, she had no Jane to talk to. This wasn’t something she could go to Pepper with. Time for the fall back.

 She dug out her cell, and brought up Twitter. She suspected SHIELD would not approve of Twitter accounts (she’d had enough trouble from that Thor picture on Facebook) so it was anonymous. False name, Jessica Rabbit as the profile pic, no locations, no names, she was careful. When she needed to vent, or talk television that no-one around her watched (practically everything), or read the wise words of William Shatner, she went to Twitter.  

>  The hot foreign guy at work - we hooked up. Said he loved me. All aces. Went on family visit, now he just wants to be friends.  wft?

 The replies trickled in. She shot back some answers.

> Yeah, him. Thought he was a dick, then shit came down at work and he was really cool about it. Looked out for me. Still is.

> Yeah, kinda fell for him. Sucks, huh? </3

Speculation: secret girlfriends, family pressure, but the consensus was clear.

> Sorry, Jess. He’s just not that into you.

Darcy threw away her phone and turned to Ben, Jerry and a rerun of _Friends_. Ross and Rachel were on a break.

* * *

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Natasha was being cryptic instead of leaving when Tony was itching to do things.

“You know what.” And Tony realized that, yes, she knew exactly what he was itching to do. “Don’t interfere. I saw what you saw but they’ll work it out.”

 “But…”

“Tony, we have a lot to do, not least of which is convincing Fury. We need focus, Loki especially. Do not stir things up, at least until this is finished.”

“Okay, Nat. I won’t do anything.”

“It’s SHIELD headquarters at 0800 for the meeting with Fury. Do not be late.”

Tony went to his workshop and fired up his computers. He wouldn’t do anything. But finding out what he _could_ do, that was obviously fine.

* * *

 “Oh HELL no.” Fury leaned back in his chair. “That bracelet stays ON.”

 Loki saw he would have to explain, and it was not an explanation he really wished to give.

He spoke slowly, struggling with the words. “These disks are Chitauri. The one who controls the Chitauri made the poison in them, with what he…took...from me.”

He smiled. Fury remembered soldiers he had known, survivors of the hell-holes of the world, who had smiled like that.

“My essence, you might say, distilled into pure hate. The poison in the disks, the poison in Thor's body, is me. Only my magic can draw it out. Mine and no other.”

The room was silent, a silence broken by Tony. “Yes, they weaponized Loki. Unexpected. So now what?” He leaned back, counting out points on his fingers. “Thanks to the combined genius of me and Banner, we have a way of removing the splinters. Loki can remove the" he air quoted “’poison’, and we have the play all worked out. So it’s your move, Nick.”

“My move,” said Fury, “is that I think about it. You two can leave. Natasha, you’re with me.”

 

* * *

“Romanov, this is one hell of a problem you’ve landed in my lap.”  

A strategy meeting was underway in Fury’s office.

Natasha was unmoved. “The problem was already here. I’m alerting you to it, and offering a solution.”

“A solution? Sure, if it works.”

“We can certainly remove the splinters. Tony and Bruce developed the equipment and tested it under the Hazard Containment Program. It successfully treated the agents exposed to the disks.”   

Fury looked at Natasha sharply. “Any effects from the splinters in the personnel involved?”

“None. Apparently this contamination is Aesir specific.  But Hazard Containment will be monitoring them.”

Fury signed. “Well, I guess that’s something. Anything else we need to consider?”

Maria Hill leaned in. “I have confirmation from Asgard. They’re saying the same thing; only Loki can remove the contamination. There’s more. His status has changed, Loki is now an emissary rather than…”

“Being here on community service? Oh, that’s just great. Anything else?”

Hill nodded. “I have a report here from Agent Moore. She’s concerned about Thor and his state of mind. We have to act soon.”

“Even better. So, people, what do we do?”

Steve spoke for the first time. “What's wrong with the plan Natasha has on the table?

“The single combat shtick ?” Nick wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Natasha jumped in. “We’re short on alternatives. Overpowering Thor will not be easy. Sedatives don’t work on him. And he is paranoid. Loki is certain he can provoke him and thereby get him into a secure location.” 

“We could arrange that Thor be transported to Asgard and dealt with there.” Hill shrugged as she finished speaking. “That’s the only alternative I can think of.”

Natasha nodded. “Which would still leave us with the real problem, the bracelet.”

“If Asgard take it off,” Hill said, “how do we know they’ll put it back on? It will be out of our control.”

“Where's the better option here?” Steve asked. “If we keep the bracelet on Loki, then we end up with Thor a threat. If we send Loki to Asgard and they take it off there… well, we’ve seen Loki in action, all of us. If he chose to, he could attack us straight away.”

“If he didn’t attack us, serious damage would have been done to our relationship with Asgard.” Hill said. “Our returning of their emissary and their compromised crown prince could not be ignored.”

Nick put his head in his hands and groaned. “So we’re going to have to trust the guy?”

"The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him", said Steve, and Fury lifted his head and glared. 

“I see no other way,” said Natasha. “Returning Loki makes us look weak. It hands away what control we have. It gives us no advantage.” She turned directly to Fury. “This is a long game. Walking away from this problem is the wrong answer.”  

“I agree,” said Steve.

“I do too”, said Hill.

Fury stood up , decision made. 

 “You want me to be reckless, agents? Fine. Draw up some scenarios, all of you. If we have to let the bastard lose, we contain the situation as much as we can.”

* * *

Thor paced his apartment like a lion, furniture shoved across or toppled where it had got in his way. He greeted the tap on the door with enthusiasm, all the more so when he saw who it was.

 “Ah brother, it is good to see you. I grow weary of this tiny box in which the mortals would contain me. Entertain me with your wit.”

“It is in my weapon hand, brother. I have come to challenge you to a battle, and not one of wits.”

Thor laughed. “Oh, you do amuse me, brother. But I would think you paler, if it were possible. Are you angry with me?”

“You are a villain; I jest not. You have killed Jane and her death will fall heavy on you.”

Thor paused. “So, she is dead.”

“She is. You killed a sweet and innocent lady, and so we must meet.”   

“So you say, brother, but why should I dip Mjolnir in your blood?

“For the sport of it, perhaps. You did not scruple to spill hers.”

“And what is that to you? She was beautiful and brilliant, but it was her brilliance that killed her. ”

“Why?” This question was wholly sincere. Loki had seen what he had seen, but he did not understand it.

“Her brilliance blinded her. She could not see the proper order of things. The Bifrost is the glory of Asgard, the core of our strength. You saw the result of its destruction – war, chaos, brigands attacking where they would.”  

“But she would build another Bifrost.”

“Yes, one outside of Asgard’s control. It is the control of the Bifrost that brings peace and order. It is the control of the Bifrost that gives Asgard our strength. Without our strength, our control, the Realms would fall apart. Let the mortals stay their hand and know their place.”

“So this was the treason she committed, that justified you manufacturing her guilt?”

“Yes. I am the Crown Prince of Asgard. One day I will be King. I will not accept the undermining of my Realm. Asgard cannot tolerate equals.”

“And her treason against Midgard?”

“The threat of war. With a Bifrost they would be like Jotunheim – too dangerous to ignore. What greater crime against Midgard could there be? Her work could only bring slavery or death.”

“But brother, why? What good to Asgard are slaves or corpses?”

“A foolish question. Besides, it is no matter, the woman is dead, Midgard and Asgard saved.”

“Yet her work goes on.”

Thor paused in his pacing and stared at his brother in disbelief.

“How so? Even the good Erik Selvik could not match her.”

“He could, with me whispering in his ear.”

Thor’s eyes blazed with sudden fury. “You cannot do this!”

“The lady has no monument, no elegies sung. Erik Selvik said, let her work be her monument. How could I deny him?”

Thor sneered. “Deny him or deny your woman? You do this for the kisses of your doxy.”

Loki stared back coldly. “Eat your words. Darcy does not bid me to work in Jane's name, I do it of my own free will. She engaged me to challenge you, it is true, but alas, it seems you are a coward.”

The fury grew in Thor’s face, and he raised clenched fists.

“No, brother, remember, Heimdall watches. You cannot kill me here. Accept my challenge and you may kill me tomorrow, if you can.”

“Where?”

“You know it well, the place Clint Barton showed you. The secret armory.” 

* * *

Once again, Darcy was back from the hospital to find Loki waiting at her door. "I have come to report", he said, but his smile could not hide his drawn look. Darcy quickly opened the door and ushered him inside. 

"You look awful. Sorry but its true."

"I saw myself today. It was not a pleasing sight. How is Jane?" 

"She had a convulsion. It freaked me out. The doctors just keep saying it will take time. " 

"I went to see Thor. You have your wish, I fight him tomorrow." 

Darcy put the kettle down with a bang, all plans to play it cool forgotten. "The hell? Are you certifiable?" 

A hint of mischief came into Loki's smile. "Your faith in me is cheering." 

Darcy was not to be distracted. "Why? Why are you doing this?" 

"I swore to the All-Father that I would attempt to overpower Thor and cure him. If I cannot do it then SHIELD will have a free hand to restrain him. I have no plans to die." 

"No plans to die?" Darcy looked up to heaven for strength. "Oh, that's okay then. Do you swear not to?" she added sarcastically. 

"I swear," said with the utmost conviction. "You would not wish me to break my oaths?" said rather more playfully. 

"No", Darcy signed. Being friends really trashed her powers of persuasion. "We're friends, right? Friends hug. Can I hug you?" 

He nodded, and she crossed to him, put her arms around him, and held him tight, as if that could protect him. She felt his head laid on top of hers and felt as well as heard his murmur. 

"I must go now. I will see you in the hospital tomorrow when it is over. That too I swear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I do it again, Luckyhai5?
> 
> The title is a phrase used frequently by Ronald Regan during the Cold War. It's a translation of a Russian proverb Доверяй, но проверяй (doveryai, no proveryai).
> 
> As you can tell, this chapter in particular assumes a backstory where Loki does the right thing (eventually) in The Dark World. 
> 
> Darcy is riffing off "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (Mr and Mrs Beaver talking about Aslan) in the "tame lion" bit. 
> 
> Steve is quoting [Henry L. Stimpson](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_L._Stimson). He actually read all those books SHIELD gave him. 
> 
> **Shakespeare Nerdery**  
>  Not much Shakespeare in this chapter. There are elements of act 5 scene 1 (where Benedick challenges Claudio to a duel) in the Thor & Loki section.


	12. Single Combat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There is blood on my hands.”  
> The plan to rid Thor of the poison is carried out, and Loki has plans of his own.

Loki sat, dressed in black leather armour, and listened to Tony tell again how to activate the gauntlets to remove the splinters. He flexed them as he listened, glad that they were thin enough to wear in combat.  

A knock on the van interrupted them. Natasha opened the doors and stepped in, Captain America at her side. She held a bracelet identical in appearance to the one Loki wore. She snapped it on, then the Captain placed his hand on the old. He paused, and looked Loki in the face. "We trust you." A section of metal faded away, and Natasha took it and slipped it from Loki's wrist. The Captain left and Natasha looked keenly at both men. "Five minutes," and she was gone too. 

Tony shifted. “What happens if _you_ touch these splinters?”

“I do not know. I do not particularly wish to find out.” They sat silent in the featureless space of the van and waited. Natasha returned. "It's time." 

“Knock ‘em dead, champ!” Tony thumped his shoulder as Loki stepped out. “Not literally, mind you.”

 

He had fought in many places; forests, deserts, fields of ice, but in many ways this was the most desolate of all. The only colour in the gray concrete cavern was in the three figures present: Captain America in black and silver and bearing red, white and blue; the silver, red and golden blond hair of his brother; his own black and green and bronze.

“You have agreed to meet in single combat, to fight until you have satisfaction.” The Captain looked ill at ease. "Take your weapons." 

Loki moved to the spear rack. To his surprise, his brother did the same. There was no sign of Mjolnir. Thor noticed Loki's eyes searching for the hammer and fury welled in his. 

"I would not befoul Mjolnir with your blood. A spear will kill you just as well." Loki smiled back mockingly and internally wondered how much Odin had foreseen. Was Thor so changed he could not wield Mjolnir? With Mjolnir absent, Loki could hope to survive this battle without serious injury, even when holding his magic in reserve to undo the harm done to Thor. 

They returned to the center of the room and the Captain spoke, this time in his own words. "“I want a good clean fight. You can begin.”

The brothers approached the centre of the room as the Captain retreated to the closed door.

“It is not too late to back down, brother.” Thor grinned humorlessly.

“I might say the same.” They bowed to each other, then started to circle.

Suddenly Thor lunged, and Loki rolled away. Again and again Thor attacked and Loki evaded. Loki’s mouth twisted in a smile and he saw fury increase in his brother’s eyes.

“If I wanted to dance, I would not have come here.”

“I beg forgiveness, brother, I was thinking of my work.” Thor’s eyes narrowed. 

"You will not live to do it," and his next attack caught Loki across the face, foreseeing Loki's sideways drop. Thor's grin was feral, and Loki had to spin away to avoid the spear thrust. They were evenly matched, Thor’s strength counterbalancing Loki’s speed. It was like their bouts as children long ago, except for the hate in Thor's eyes. 

Loki kept smiling his mocking smile, now making attacks of his own, landing blows from the shaft of the spear and spinning away. He aimed to frustrate and enrage, and in that he was successful. The bloodlust shone in Thor's eyes, but it blinded him. His attacks lacked their normal intelligence and he succeeded in landing no more than glancing blows. Even those, Loki knew, would leave him bruised for days. But he still had no serious injury and the dance could continue, Thor lunging and Loki skipping away. 

Loki let one knee drop as if strained. When Thor charged he swept the legs away from under him. Thor landed on his back and Loki scrambled to pin him but Thor put his feet down, pushed up and knocked Loki away. Loki rolled and felt the spear point score his armored side. But now he knew what he should do.

Sparring, avoiding, he saw his chance. Less elegant this time, the spear butt thrust between legs, and Thor fell awkwardly. Loki was on him again, but this time he took away one hand for a split second and bonds of magic held Thor’s legs to the floor. Loki leaned forward, and in a movement held the spear in place with his knees and hands, across his brother’s neck and hands. Loki moved to place both palms against those of his brother, looked full into his brother’s face and activated the gauntlets and his power in unison.

Thor opened his mouth as if to roar, unable to arch his back due to the magical restraint. Dirty green smoke started to drift from his eyes, his ears, his mouth. Loki concentrated, his face growing grim and stern, and the smoke poured, billowing around Thor’s head. Watching concealed above the false ceiling a sniper’s eyes widened as the smoke formed a grimacing face, filled with hate. Loki did not move, and his eyes remained fixed on his brother. He started speaking in words the sniper did not know, his face commanding, his voice growing louder until the face of smoke shimmered and a clear ring appeared in its core. Immediately the smoke started to dissipate, but the circle of clear air expanded like a shock wave and annihilated it.

Loki gathered the last of his strength and shifted the gauntlets directly from his hands into the containment box. He released the bonds of magic, then slipped wearily from Thor’s body, spear laid aside, to crouch next to him.

Silence, then Thor half sat up and screamed in agony. Loki reared in shock, then leapt to his brother.  A hasty examination could find no serious wound, merely scrapes and bruises of the fight and the torn hands. He sat back on his heels as the Captain approached at a run and spoke sharply, demanding an answer. “Brother! Where are you injured?”

Thor stopped screaming. He looked at Loki with wild eyes as if he had never seen him before.

“There is blood on my hands.”

“Small wounds only. They will soon heal.”

 “NO!” Thor boomed. “There is blood on my hands. I have killed her.” He screamed again “I HAVE KILLED HER.”

It took Loki longer to talk Thor down than the battle had taken. Finally Thor allowed his hands to be bandaged. He insisted, however, that he should be taken into custody and locked away. The Captain took Thor's arm, sympathy in his face and led him out of the room. He then returned with Natasha, who had the bracelet in her hands. Loki’s mouth twisted but he held out his arm and allowed the Captain to lock it on his wrist. 

The Captain paused. "Thank you." He left the room again, leaving Natasha to remove the fake bracelet.

Loki paused. “I thank you and the Captain for allowing me to attend my brother this long.”

He could see the sympathy in her eyes. “I know what it’s like, to get someone back again. There’s no worse way to lose a friend than having him taken over, to have him ready to kill you without mercy.”

“Your sympathy cuts like throwing knives, Black Widow, and every word strikes home.”

“I meant it.”

“I know.”

They left the test room together as the cleanup team came in. "Will you go with your brother?" Natasha asked.

"I must." 

She produced a piece of paper and he almost laughed aloud. "And for this I must negotiate? Come, Natasha Romanov, we are not so unalike.”

She shrugged, smiled. “Some hunt with arrows, some with traps.” 

* * *

Thor’s debriefing took some time. Once over, Natasha left Thor’s cell, a clear cube originally built to house the Hulk, and allowed Loki to join him. In the lobby outside Steve Rogers was waiting.

“I want to talk to you about Thor. He should be told Jane is alive.”

“No.”

 “He’s in pain.”

Natasha put a hand on his arm. “I understand your feelings, Steve, but there’s the small matter of Jane’s head injury. She needs quiet and rest. Do you think Thor seeing her will ensure that?”

Steve signed. “Okay. I see it but I don’t like it.”

Loki sat outside the cell and watched Thor, seated with his head in his hands. 

"You know you could not have helped this? By rights this poison should have driven you mad within a month.“ 

Thor did not move or speak. The brothers sat in silence. 

"You must be patient..." 

This time Thor spoke. “Let me be, brother. It is easy to counsel and speak comfort to that grief which you do not feel. Lose a love as I have, then speak to me of patience.” He spoke with only sorrow in his voice. 

Loki waited in silence, but his brother did not speak again. As he took his leave he touched the glass and spoke softly. “Your death will help no-one.” Thor did not stir. 

* * *

When Loki entered Jane’s room, Darcy pushed him straight back out into the corridor, past the SHIELD agent accompanying him. The agent’s puzzlement vanished as Darcy enveloped Loki in a hug, only drawing back as he winced.

“I told Natasha to tell you all was well.” Loki’s tone boded no good for Natasha. 

Darcy nodded. “She texted me. But it’s so good to see you. You know, walking…only slightly damaged…how’s Thor?”

“The poison is gone, but he is still suffering. How is Jane?”

“She misses Thor. She doesn't say it but I know. But she's not well enough for soap opera stuff.” Darcy considered, then grinned,   “Even this. Now I’ve got it out of my system you can come in.”

Jane was still weak but lucid. Loki told her that Thor had been cured and that he was sick with grief at his actions. He noted the sympathy in her eyes. It mingled with guilt and relief when he told that Thor still thought her dead, and could not visit. The conversation turned to the lab, and Erik's determination that they should get back to work. "So see," Darcy said, "you can relax, bosslady. We've got it all under control. Concentrate on getting better." 

“And to that end, I have something for you.” Loki opened the bag he carried and took out a helm, plainly wrought, made entirely of gold. A plate covered the face, but no eye-pieces were cut out.

“This is the Helm of Dreams from Asgard. It is made to be worn when asleep. It will support your mind, and allow your body to heal. Natasha has already spoken to the staff here and they permit it.”

 “Oh. Okay.” Jane looked bemused, but willing.

“But I must warn of one thing. This helm is named the Helm of Dreams for a reason. It allows the gods to enter the dreams of mortals.”

“I'll be able to go into people's dreams?”

“No, gods can enter the dreams of mortals. Mortals can enter the dreams of gods. But I have altered it so it will not reach beyond Midgard.”

Jane shook her head. “I don't know...I don't think...”

“Jane, though broken you still have an extraordinary mind. I tell you this only because you are one of the few who might be able to do this. In any case it will only work if you will it. Without your desire to speak it will only mend your mind and make you whole." Jane looked undecided, so Loki struck home. "This realm needs you Jane. Your work is important, and to do it you must be whole again.”

Jane grimaced but took the helm.

Darcy saw Loki out.

“You know she’s totally going to do it, right? The dream thing?”

A look of surprise touched Loki’s face. “You think so?”

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him, but the innocence didn't slip from his face. 

* * *

Loki stood, looking at the stars. It was an alien sky, embroidered with gas-clouds in glowing colors. The sound of waves beating on a pebble beach was audible, but the sea itself could not be seen. 

A faint mist blew in. Loki frowned for a second, then amusement twisted his lips. He murmured softly to himself “Ah, the scientist makes a test.” He raised his voice. “Is someone there?” 

The mist thickened into fog, the light of the stars strengthened until the beach was swallowed in a shifting, swirling world of white clouds and indirect light. Out of it stepped Jane, dressed in billowing white. 

Loki looked around, and smiled. “But you are an artist as well as a scientist. This is most atmospheric. But why do you visit me like this?” 

“I wondered.” 

“Did you know you are the first mortal to wear the helm?” 

“Obviously I didn’t.” Jane considered. “So Thor…wouldn’t guess?” 

“Not unless you tell him. That I would advise against.” 

“Why not? Will it affect the helm?” 

“No.” said Loki matter-of-factly. “Because he sighs for you. If he knew you lived he would tear your world apart looking for you. “ He sighed. "I am worried for him." 

“What would I even say?” 

“That is up to you. It has always been that gods tell mortals truth in dreams, I would presume it should apply the other way. Now, go to him. Or not, as you wish.” 

Jane faded into the clouds. The light withdrew up to the stars, the mist turned grey, then black, then faded and Loki stood alone on the beach once more. He turned his eyes to the stars and laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never written a combat scene before. It shows!
> 
>  **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Natasha's line about arrows and traps is a riff off Hero's line in Act 3, scene 1 "Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps." which I like but didn't seem to fit in before.  
> Thor's words to Loki about patience echo Leonato's words to Antonio in Act 5 scene 1.


	13. Seeking Accord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're all the things I've got to remember."
> 
> Jane and Thor talk, Darcy and Loki fail to. A tapestry of scattered conversations held over three weeks.

Just one week closed and the lab was in chaos. The thorough search that SHIELD carried out after the first discovery had not helped, especially since they didn’t bother refiling. Darcy decided to suck it up and reorganize the whole lot. 

She was still worried about Jane. She knew from what Loki told her that Thor was suffering. She didn’t really know how things stood between Loki and herself. So, busy was good. Darcy listened to her iPod as she worked on her filing and sang along softly. Loki stopped his work to listen and a smile danced on his lips.

* * *

The lab closed early each evening, so Darcy and Erik could visit Jane. Loki sometimes went with them, but most of his evenings were spent with Thor. Sorrow showed in Thor’s face but his early despair was gone.

“I am glad brother,” Loki said. “Jane would not have wanted to see you so broken.”

“I know,” Thor whispered, and Loki was satisfied.

 

At first she had been little more than a presence in his dreams, a voice asking him to eat, telling him his brother worried for him. She retreated quickly if he moved to her, so he took to kneeling when the first mists appeared, and speaking gently and encouraging her to talk. He guessed why she was wary, this Jane of his dreams; his memories of the past month were the other fixture of his nights, and filled him with horror. Her presence gave him hope and lent him the patience his brother had wished for him.

 She stood now, a foot away, so beautiful and real. “I can understand you might think it foolish, since all this is known in Asgard.”

He shook his head. “No, your work is not foolish.” A look of pain crossed his face. “When cursed, I did not think it foolish. I was afraid.”

Jane looked at him wide-eyed. “But why?”

“Because there is more than one way to know. Your path and ours may go to the same place, but yours may go further yet. My cursed self feared you would surpass Asgard. You mortals have short lives, but you achieve so much.” And he sighed, because her life had been all too short.

She had taken a step closer. “Yes, I think that. There’s more than one way to know. I…I didn’t realise you did too.” Passion had crept into her voice. “The Bridge…it would not only be a great discovery, revolutionize physics, but it could do such good. I know now Earth is on the front line, thanks to all you've told me. From Asgard, you can leap straight to where the trouble starts. We can’t. Our own bridge could give immediate transport for the Avengers, allow us to distribute aid, perhaps give a base to explore from. It matters. The science but also what it can do. You showed me that, Thor.”

He looked up at her face, enthusiastic in the mists, and smiled wistfully. “I am glad to hear it, my love.”

* * *

Darcy was back from a long chatty lunch with Tony. She wondered balefully if he had been in on it. “Loki, what the HELL have you done with my iPod?”

Loki looked up, all innocence. “I wished to broaden your woefully narrow musical taste.”

“Your musical taste doesn’t extend past the 12th century. You’ve just put everything Scandinavian on iTunes onto this, haven’t you?”

“Everything Nordic, I believe.”

“The StarkPlay has much better security than your piece of crap. Just saying,” Stark hollered across, eyes on his screen.

“Shut up, Tony.”

Darcy went off muttering. But despite being a prank, it was also probably the most expensive present any guy had ever bought her.

* * *

“I wish I had been brave enough to ask for your hand.” Thor knelt in the mist, thinking of what might have been, a mood broken by the troubled look on her face. “Would you have said no?”

“I…don’t know. Would it have been possible?”

He turned serious eyes on her. “If I am yours and you are mine, what else matters?”

“Lots of things. Your father, Asgard…”

He waved them away with his hand. “They do not matter to me. Not as you do.” He would forget, while talking to her, that Jane was dead.

“Thor,” she spoke gently and looked down into his face. “I know you aren’t happy on Earth.”

He made as if to speak, then paused. “In truth, I am not. But I am not happy parted from you. And my brother needs me.”

Jane moved closer. “I think…I hope maybe one day he won’t need you anymore. What then?”

This was the closest she had been to him. Thor spoke softly, afraid to startle her. “Then I would stay with you as I decided.”

Jane tentatively touched his hand. “I don’t think I want to see you unhappy and away from all you know and love, because of me. Away from what you think you should do, for all the Nine Realms.”

He was silent.

* * *

“What ails you brother?” Thor had not seemed to notice his brother’s visit, and sat, staring into space.

“Forgive my inattention. I am thinking.”

Loki snorted. “An unusual state of affairs for you, brother,” but both knew the retort was pure reflex.

“Perhaps I should do it more often,” Thor said mildly. “I am thinking of what I now understand, that I did not understand before.”

“Indeed.” The syllable was not inviting.

“Yes.” Thor for the first time focused on Loki. “Loki, I...” but Loki interrupted him.

“Do not presume to think you understand me, brother. This poison was made from my essence, but came not from my mind and heart. All I did was mine alone. My clutching at crowns, my fall, my alliances…would you dare to say you understand that? Excuse it?”

Loki spoke calmly, but his knuckles gleamed white. Thor sighed, and shook his head. “No brother. But a long time ago, when we fought side by side, I did not understand you. You always seemed so ready to take offence, so quickly sunk into anger and misery. I did not understand why you could not simply be happy. When I was…sick…I understood. The words people spoke to me, the hidden smiles…this place is alien to me. I know it. As alien as Asgard was then to you. I did not understand before and for that I ask forgiveness.”

Loki’s eyes were wide on the other side of the glass. He stood, frozen for a moment, then looked down and whispered, “There is nothing to forgive.” He looked up again. “Are we not, after all, brothers?” and he returned Thor’s tentative smile.

* * *

“What’s going on with you and Loki?” Darcy had been carefully misunderstanding Jane’s hints for the past few days. Now Jane was on the offensive.

“Whoa there. Aren’t you supposed to not think too much? Your crazy imagination will blow your mind. Like, literally.”

Jane raised her eyebrows. “The doctors are amazed at how quickly I’m recovering. And it’s not imagination. So?”

Darcy started to play with the corner of the blanket. “So…” She looked up to see a big grin on Jane’s face. “No. No grin. Look, I like him, okay. But…”

Jane put away the grin. “But?”

Darcy looked at the pile of magazines. “He’s more changeable than the fashion pages. And I think I’m a puff-ball skirt. Popular for a month, then bargain-binsville.”

Jane took her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I’m not. It’s okay.” But she knew that Jane knew she was lying.

* * *

 “I’ll be gooone in a day or two…” Darcy was back in the lab from her mission to buy more ground coffee and pop-tarts. She grinned at the two pained faces turned towards her.

“What? This is one of the songs Loki bought me.”

“Did I?” Loki’s look of distaste spoke volumes.

“It’s great! It was in the trailer for the Lego movie.”

“Loki, what have you done?” Tony threw an exaggerated look of horror across the floor.

“You shouldn’t judge it without listening to it,” Darcy said loftily, holding out an earbud to Loki. Instead of taking the bud, he took her hand, and held it beside his ear. She could feel his breath against her wrist, and she forced herself to ignore the trembling in her stomach and to concentrate on the tinny thread of sound. Loki was equally silent.

“Words fail him!” Tony guffawed.

Loki nodded across the floor and gently let go of her hand. She drifted to her desk, shook herself mentally, and started to google cheesy Scandinavian pop. Pop would be her sweet revenge.

* * *

Thor still knelt in the mist, although Jane was no longer wary. They spoke together, her hand in his.

 “My work is here. I just wouldn’t fit in there. I’m not like your mother or Sif.”

“But why should you be?” Thor asked. “We agree that there are many paths. Sif had hers, you have yours. Your work is of value, more understanding of the universe always is.”

“But I can’t have both.” Jane’s eyes were sad.

Thor shook his head. “Why not?”

“The distance…” but Thor was shaking his head.

“Do not Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have both? Though she travels far and wide, are they not happy together?”

“You mean I should commute?” Jane had a broad smile at the thought. “By Bifrost every day? Give my ticket to Heimdall to stamp?”

“Why not?”

“It’s crazy!” Jane was laughing but Thor could hear it was not an objection. Then she sobered. “Would Asgard ever accept it? A queen who was always away?”

“Asgard and my father will accept what I say must be accepted. My mother is not at Asgard’s beck and call, and neither need you be.” Cautiously he pressed his lips to her hand, and smiled up at her as she did not draw away. “I need you, and I cannot be a true prince to Asgard without you, let alone a king.”  

And suddenly he remembered and his eyes filled with tears. And her arms came around him, in silent consolation.

* * *

Tony nudged Bruce and grinned. Loki and Darcy were talking.

“But you must listen to Sigur Rós…”

“I think Loki has made it his life’s mission to convert Darcy from Aha and Abba.” Bruce murmured, with a matching grin.

“Doooomed,” Tony whispered back.

 Across the floor Darcy was tossing her head. “Seriously? I can’t even read the songtitles.” 

Loki tilted his head and gave her the full impact of his teasing, pleading face. “Please, Wildcat…”

Darcy crossed her arms. “Okay, enough with the puppy dog eyes. I’ll listen at home tomorrow. Right now I’ve got to get back to work.” 

* * *

The sound of Sigur Rós flowed around her, chords soaring, voices harmonizing in a language she didn’t understand, until her heart ached and she could weep, overflowing with longing and need. It was beautiful but it tore her apart, because it made her think of him.  

Darcy sat up and pounded the bed. Dammit! She was not going to waste a good Saturday sitting around moping. She was going to march right up to his door and ask straight out what was going on. Did he want it to be over or not?

When he answered the door to her, as always he slipped around it and closed it behind him. The more bizarre suggestions from her twitter feed came back to her and she narrowed her eyes.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

He didn’t move.

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

She pushed past him and opened the door. It turned out he was telling the literal truth. The large main room in front of her was completely bare, with a single spear lying on the ground beneath the window. The kitchen looked untouched, the guest room equally so. In the main bedroom she could see clothes in the built-in wardrobe, books scattered across the ground, a chest in a corner, and a mattress with sheets on the floor. It was like a minimalist Tracy Emin.

He shrugged when she turned to him with a “what are you thinking” look on her face. She crossed her arms. “Friends don’t let friends live like this. We’re going to IKEA.”

It was, she had to admit, the best trip to IKEA ever. Even travelling to Brooklyn was a completely new experience for him. He corrected her pronunciations of IKEA’s weird names and told her about people and places he had known that shared them. He suffered through the meatballs and asked so many questions they stopped off on the way home to get books on Scandinavian design.

And yes, okay, she’d totally chickened out, vented her frustration in making him go. But seriously, how could he live like that? And she’d got her answer anyway. The spark wasn’t there. Even testing the mattress together for his new bed; she had grinned cheekily across at him…and nothing. In no way did he give any sign he wanted to get together.

But hey, she'd survive. She'd discovered Abba. She was the Dancing Queen.

* * *

“They say I can’t come here anymore.” Jane spoke before she had emerged from the mist. Thor stood and crossed to her and touched her cheek, and she did not pull away.

“So I will never see you again.” Thor’s voice was filled with simple sadness.

She looked up at him, and struggled to find the words. “I'm so sorry. We will…believe me…we will see each other again.” 

He could see the tears in her eyes. Thor smiled down gently. “I choose to believe you, even though you are a dream.”

She raised her head, and he bent down and kissed her.

Even as he kissed her, she was gone.

* * *

Fury raised his eye to heaven, and spoke without heat. “Why is everything about this whole affair so damn theatrical?”

Natasha smiled, but Stark was already speaking.

“Don’t know if you know the guy? Thor? Tall blond dude dressed like a refugee from Wagnerian Opera? Of course it’s theatrical!”

“It is really up to you, Director.” Loki spoke softly. “If you wish to remain the jailer of the heir to Asgard, neither he nor I shall stand in your way. If not, and a little theatre will free him, what harm?”

Fury held up both hands.  “Hey, it's fine with me. Have it your way.”

Loki and Tony’s eyes met in shared victory.

 

Tony hijacked Natasha on the way out.

“Can I interfere yet?”

“Is matchmaking for one god not enough?” asked Natasha, lips twitching.

“No!”

“They will work it out. They are in love or they are not,” Natasha shrugged.

“What kind of logic is that?”

Natasha arched an eyebrow. “Principium tertii exclusi?”

Tony put on his stubborn face. “Told you before, don’t like it when you speak Russian at me.”

Natasha sighed and closed her eyes. “Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла” She opened them again. “Tell me, Tony, why is it so important to you that these two get together?”

He shook his head. “Lots of reasons. It just is. It…works, you know? It's right.”

She shrugged. “Then interfere if you must.”

“All I wanted to know.”

* * *

“It seems our situations are reversed, brother.”

Thor looked through the glass at Loki. “It certainly seems so.”

Loki shook his head at the mild sarcasm in Thor’s voice. “No, not in that way. I need your help.   
"Erik wishes Jane’s work to continue, in her memory. But the lab staff are uncertain. They are still disturbed by past events. But if you were to speak of her innocence, of the importance of her work, I am certain it would help. Leave this cage tonight, go and speak tomorrow. Then you can return here if you must, though I hope you will not.”

Thor looked uncertain. “Are you sure of this brother?”

Loki only nodded.

“And where would I stay?” Loki knew why Thor asked. He had seen Thor’s apartment, ripped apart, utterly destroyed, with splintered furniture surrounding Mjolnir, lying in the center of the floor.

“You may stay with me.” He noted the disbelief on Thor’s face. “Brother, put away your cynicism. I have furniture now.”

 

Thor’s surprise when he saw Loki’s apartment was clear. But all he said was, “You have no-where to spar now, brother, unless you spar with me.”

Thor was the quietest Loki had ever known him. He accepted everything Loki suggested until Loki showed him where he would sleep. Thor eyed up the bed with its green sheets. “But this is your room. You should sleep here.”

Loki shook his head. “I sleep in the other room.” Thor turned surprised eyes on him and he flushed a little. “Darcy wished I buy this. I do not need it.”

“Darcy was right,” Thor said robustly. “You are the master here. You should have a bed fit for one. I will sleep on the mattress.” He cuffed Loki gently as his mouth opened to argue. “Would you refuse my respect when I am under your roof?”

To that, there was nothing to say, so Loki gave in.

 

As he expected, he could not sleep. He saw Darcy smoothing the sheets, her roguish smile as she lay on the mattress next to him, felt the tremble in her hands as he listened to her music. Even the words haunted him. _You’re all the things I’ve got to remember_. _Shy away, I’ll be coming for you anyway._

He would come for her tomorrow. 

Loki got up, and in the dim living room started to write. The words flowed quickly onto the page, telling Darcy of her beauty and wit and bravery, of his longing and fear and hope. When he was finished, he smiled a crooked smile, and snapped his fingers. A flame caught the edge of the paper. A simple charm, fit for a child on Asgard, one of the very few left to him. Even this little charm left his hands blue for an instant.

He put the paper in the empty fireplace and watched it burn until it was ash. Then he returned to his room.

Tomorrow. It would be tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm carefully avoiding spoilers for Thor 2 at the moment! Should have the last chapter up tomorrow.
> 
> The song Darcy made Loki listen to was "Take On Me", by A-ha. 
> 
> I listened to Sigur Rós (Valtari) writing this. A-ha just invaded from left field. Viking heritage perhaps ;) 
> 
> **More gratuitous philosophy**  
>  The joke is, of course, that Tony knows full well that Natasha isn't speaking Russian the first time, and Natasha knows that he knows (and suspects he knows what she means to boot).  
> When Tony asks what kind of logic is that, Natasha is answering. It's the [Principle of the Excluded Middle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_excluded_middle), called “Principium tertii exclusi” in Latin.  
> The Russian Natasha then says translates as "Granny told fortunes and said two things" (per [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_excluded_middle)). The whole saying is, "Granny told fortunes and said two things — it will either rain or snow; it either will or will not." In other words, the outcome is uncertain. There are two options and either might come true, which is what Natasha was getting at in the first place. 
> 
> **Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  In act 1 scene 1 Beatrice says Benedick is fickle as fashion. Darcy says more or less the same of Loki. That's it!


	14. Waterloo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My my. In Waterloo Napoleon did surrender.”  
> Maybe if Tony had let Darcy hear the whole song, she might have had a hint of what was coming.

“My my” sang Darcy, iPod earbuds in, hands full of coffee from the good place as she entered the lab. “In Waterloo Napoleon did surrender. Oh Yeah!” A finger tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned Tony took the buds out of her ears. “Are you okay, Darcy? Where does it hurt?”

“Ha ha, Tony Stark!”  Darcy returned. She raised her voice a little, as appropriate when talking to the slightly deaf. “It’s ABBA, grandpa. Waterloo. They probably played it at your prom.”

“I am wounded, Darcy. That was low”, Tony returned, all pouting hurt.

“Aw. Well, this will cheer up my favorite silver fox” and Tony’s grimace turned to pleasure as the smell of finest Italian espresso wafted up from the takeaway cup she handed him.

“A triple. You’re a treasure, Darce. Far too young, but a treasure. So what are we celebrating?”

“We made it”, Darcy lowered her voice. “It all ends today.”

 “Speaking of which, how’s our favorite co-conspirator doing?”

“Loki? Oh he’s great”, said Darcy, with enthusiasm that seemed a little forced to Tony’s sensitive ears. “We’re both busy with all this, but...yeah. He’s good. We’re friends I guess. Who’d have thought?”

“Yeah,” and Tony looked so sober Darcy nearly laughed. “Cheer up, you’re still my BFF.” She kissed him on the cheek. It was a sight that Loki, who had just walked in, did not greet with unalloyed joy.

“Hey Loki! Where'd you spring from?” Darcy turned, cup in hand. “This is for you.”

Loki looked at her, head tilted. “You bought celebration coffee for me?”

“Why the surprise? You’re part of the gang, aren’t you? Here” and she handed the cup over, with another peck on the cheek.

“I am glad I am not in your bad books, Wildcat,” said with a smile.  

Darcy knew she'd been avoiding him after IKEA. She hadn't thought he'd noticed.  “Nah, definitely not. If I found you in my books, I’d burn ‘em,” She grinned and moved on to where Bruce was waiting with a smile for his herbal tea, cheek already poised for his kiss.

 Loki went to his workstation, cup held in both hands. Tony noticed that he handled it as if it was precious, letting the warmth of it seep into his fingers.

* * *

Thor was restless. He found it hard to believe it was necessary for him to come to the lab, but his brother was insistent. He paced cautiously about his brother’s space, eyes finally resting with a frown on the ashes in the fireplace.

Thor knew little of magic, but he knew the children’s charms, of setting fire, and restoring. Boredom led him to play the old game. A few attempts and the flame flared and withdrew, leaving clean white paper in its wake. Curious, Thor lifted it and read.

* * *

“I still think we should say they’re cousins.” Little was being done that morning, since all the equipment in the main lab had been put away for the event that afternoon. Darcy leaned against Loki’s workstation and grinned at Tony rolling his eyes to heaven. “They do it all the time on Doctor Who.”

Bruce wasn’t grinning, but his dark eyes were brimming over with laughter. “She may have a point. Bollywood films often feature identical relations. Shakespeare, Greek comedies – it’s a classic trope.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at him. “But we’re not doing community theatre, so _we’re_ not doing it.” He clutched at his hair. “You’re just all trying to drive me crazy.”

“This whole thing is crazy,” Erik put in, as he passed by, going for more coffee. He agreed with Fury that the plan was too theatrical, and although he was going along with it, he disapproved.

“Aw Erik, it’ll work out great.” Darcy tossed a smile at him. Erik shrugged and moved on.

“What do you think, Loki?” Darcy turned amused eyes on him, as he sat, silently enjoying the banter.

“Tony is right of course.”

“ _Thank_ you,” and Tony waved his hand as if to highlight the one other sensible person in the room.

“But in the main I am thinking what a strange world yours is.”

Tony grinned. “Amazed it took you so long to find out.”  

* * *

The lab staff started trickling in after lunch. Tony’s memo made it clear non-attendees would be fed to piranhas. The obligation remained in the mail Pepper actually sent, even if the fishy threat did not. SHIELD agents could come or not as they wished. Obviously curiosity was as effective as beer, since a good many turned up. Darcy also noticed Steve Rogers in a corner, with Natasha by his side, and Pepper smiled and nodded as she joined Bruce and Tony.

Everyone was assembled, standing along the walls or perched on desks, when Thor came, dressed in armour and cloak.Although he was more sad than Darcy had ever seen him, he also looked himself. It was only seeing him now that made Darcy realise just how different he had been, and how much she had missed _her_ Thor, her stand-in big brother, the guy with killer abs who was a teddy bear underneath. She tossed caution and the plan to the winds, dashed over, and gave him a huge hug. His arms enveloped her. “Ah, my little Darcy.” She could hear he was trying to comfort her and she squeezed, sorry for all the pain he had had for the past weeks. Then she let him go and retreated to Loki’s workstation.

Thor went to the center of the room and spoke, clearly and loud enough for all to hear.   

“Four weeks ago, to this very day, in this very lab, Jane Foster fell. She was innocent of any wrong, but she fell with her name blackened by slander. I can tell you now that all accusations were false and my part in them is an everlasting regret to me.”

His emotions sounded clear in his voice.

“She is lost to us, but we can still do her service. It falls to you, it falls to us now to ensure her work goes on, and that her name is remembered as it should be. Her name _shall_ be remembered for her genius, her dedication, her care for science and for this realm. I hereby swear to do all in my power to ensure her work continues. I ask that you do likewise.”

The audience, though puzzled, approved. Slowly the applause came, then faded as Erik came from the test room and raised his hand. For the first time that day, Darcy thought, he looked comfortable, happy even.

“Thor, our lab leader would like to speak with you.”

“It would be my honor, Erik.” Thor waited with head bowed as Erik went back into the test room, and came out accompanied by a woman wearing goggles and with hair tied back. As she came out, she stopped, eyes fixed on the waiting figure in the middle of the room. Erik whispered to her and more confidently she went into the room, dropped the goggles on her desk, and approached Thor.

“Thor.”

He was frozen for a moment, then looked up for the first time and saw her face. He was frozen again.  His voice came, low and shocked. “By the Nine, it is another Jane.”

She looked up into his eyes. “No, it _is_ Jane. It’s me. I’m alive.”

He put out a hand that stopped inches from her, then looked at her searchingly. A moment, and then the sun rose in his face, from dullness to glorious life and joy. He touched her face then, and let go a breath and they knew he had not been sure she was real. Then a cloud came over his brow.

“Ah, but this is a dream.”

“No.” Jane dropped her head. “I’m sorry I let you think I was dead. I wanted to speak with you. It was the only way I could.”

His face filled with wonder. “It was you in my dreams?” The cloud was gone, and he laughed, gathering her in his arms. “It was you, my own Jane. My own love. But how...?” And sudden suspicion gathered , and he looked a laughing accusation across the floor.

“ _Loki?_ ”

Loki bowed. “Forgive me brother, for my deception. The fault was mine; the Lady Jane needed much persuasion.”

Thor shook his head and laughed. “Forgive you? How could I not, in this time of joy?” He drank in Jane’s face with his eyes, taking in every detail as he cupped her face before he bent to kiss her. The applause started again, and every face that Darcy would see was smiling or laughing. Thor and Jane’s joy was infectious.

“And are you alright?” Jane was running her fingers over his arms, as if to reassure herself that he was real.

“I have never been better, now I see you. And you cured of all your hurts? You must tell me everything, before I go to Asgard.” A look of understanding passed between them.

 “To Asgard? To what end?” Heads turned to the doorway, where Odin in golden armour and Frigga in embroidered cloths stood, glorious against the dull concrete of the lab. Another look between Thor and Jane, and Thor went to them, leading Jane by the hand. He went on one knee, and after a pause Jane followed suit.

“Father, Jane Foster has proven time and again that she is worthy of honor. She is the equal of any in Asgard. I love her and I mean to marry her. I would that it was with your consent, but if necessary it will be without it.” Darcy heard more than one fluttering sigh in the crowd. And yeah, okay, one of them was hers.  

Odin waved a hand. “Your brother has already pleaded your suit.” Thor turned astonished eyes again to Loki, who only mouthed, “Forgive me brother?” and smirked. Odin continued. “I give my consent to your betrothal. Once all our customs are compiled with, you may marry in Asgard.”

Darcy felt almost teary. She had never voiced it, or even dreamed of it, but this was right. This was how Jane and Thor’s story should go. As Odin continued to speak, she felt Loki’s hand on her neck, and then stiffed as one long finger moved to stroke the nape of her neck. He lent close and murmured, soft and audible only to her.

“Do you not love me?”

Darcy jerked away, before she melted into a puddle on the floor. “What the hell are you doing?” she hissed. “Friends, remember? What you wanted?”

Loki murmured, “Until my task was finished. For you. Now it is, and we can talk as I promised.”

 “We are NOT doing this here”, she whispered back, and his brows came down over his eyes. She had seen that expression once before, when for some reason quantum theory came up, and Jane and Erik tried to explain it. Jane ended up with the Feynman line. _If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics_. Loki’s brows had come down in just that way, as if to say, yes, for _you_ , but for me it should be simple. Why isn’t this simple as it should be? She lost her temper and forgot to whisper.

“No! Don’t look like that. We were never public. I never met your family. You can’t just assume...”

He interrupted her, and spoke rapidly in an undertone. "And now we are public. Now that you have made a spectacle of yourself instead of quietly answering a question."

Darcy suddenly realized the room was silent. Odin had stopped speaking and was looking straight at her. Fury across the room gave the same level, one-eyed stare, and where the hell had he come from anyway? In her shock she saw everything as a series of snapshots; Tony, Pepper and Bruce, heads close together and faces serious; Natasha, with a hand on Captain America’s wrist; Thor and Jane, surprised and hopeful; Erik’s face….

“ohcrap.”

Loki took advantage of her shock to propel her into the center of the room, and gestured sarcastically. “And if it matters to you, my parents are at hand, if you wish to make their acquaintance.”

Loki could not recall the words once out, and he glanced involuntarily at the All-Father. Odin’s face shifted imperceptibly, looking somehow, indefinably, younger. Frigga nodded at Darcy with a smile. “Well met” she said. “Already you bring joy to us.”

The Queen moved and took Darcy’s hand. She spoke low and sweet, so only Loki and Darcy could hear. “See, little one, gods and heroes attend on your word. But fear not, speak your mind and we will honor it.” Loki’s movement suggested he was not in agreement. Frigga quelled him with a glance. She continued, “But little one, speak your mind truly and listen to your heart”.

Darcy so wished she could do that, but her mind was all over the place and her heart was trying to escape from her chest. As Frigga returned to Odin’s side, Loki turned to Darcy again. He stood tall and graceful, his face calm and his eyes dark. He spoke softly.

‘“Do you not love me?”

Darcy squirmed. “I love you...but not like that.”

‘“Then Tony Stark and Jane Forster and Natasha Romanov are much deceived, they swore you did.”

Tony Stark?! Darcy looked around for Tony and glared. She was absolutely going to kill him. He made a gesture suggesting she could thank him later. Before her, Loki stood stock still, waiting.

Darcy decided to go on the attack. “Well, do you love me?”

Loki looked at her, face a mask. “I love you...but not like that.”  

Darcy tossed her head and threw his own words back: ‘“Why then Thor and Pepper Potts and Bruce Banner are much deceived, they swore you did.”

Loki shrugged. ‘“They swore that you were almost sick for me.”

Darcy snorted. “They said you’d turn into a TREE for ME.”

Loki shrugged again. “What of it? You do not love me.”

“I do…” But Darcy couldn’t say that. She was too afraid. He had not said that he loved her; she was terrified of another letdown like the last. She just couldn’t do it. “But, Loki...I love you as a friend.” She held out a hand to him. He did not take it. His face was beautiful and still and hurt her heart. 

“Darcy,” said Jane, sympathy and a hint of reproach in her voice.

“Brother,” said Thor, certainty in his. He spoke calmingly as he might to a skittish horse. “I am sure you love the lady. For I found this in your rooms, and it speaks of your love for her.”

Darcy’s eyes went wide and she wheeled and snatched the paper from Thor’s hands. She read it rapidly, and there were tears in her eyes when she finished. She looked pleadingly at Loki but his face was now cold, and his eyes, unreadable,  fixed on his brother.

“Darcy’s twitter account makes interesting reading” interposed a familiar voice. A Stark phone came sliding across the floor. Loki deftly stopped it with one foot without looking, picked it up and gave one curious glance across at Tony. 

Darcy was too busy to glare, she was fully occupied in flushing right up to her roots. “That’s an anon account, could be anyone’s,” she blurted and then suddenly realized she’d blown it. Loki turned his glance on her, then turned his attention to the phone. He read and scrolled for a full minute, the coldness faded, then understanding took its place. It was rapidly followed by amusement.  He looked up and impishly smiled at her blush.

‘“Well here’s a thing! Our own words condemn us.”

“I’m pleading the Fifth.”

Loki raised his eyebrows, ‘“Come, I will have you. But by this light”, he tapped the phone against his palm, and rolled his next words as if they tasted sweet, ‘“only for pity.”

Darcy panicked. “Look you win, you've talked me into it. We can totally be a couple. After all, someone has to save you from being a tree; it would upset your mom and she’s awesome, I can tell. Oh and...”

“Hush, my own sweet love.” Loki watched her babble, and a smile played about his lips. ‘“I will stop your mouth." He took one step, gently cupped Darcy’s face with his hands and then gently but firmly kissed her. The kiss was restrained, but the passion and relief in it left Darcy breathless.

Darcy emerged, dazed but happy. “I was only going to ask if I could have the phone.”

“Sure” called Tony from his vantage point on the other side of the room, his arm around Pepper whose eyes were bright. “But only if you promise not to kill me.” He put up his hands, in mock surrender. “It was all totally my fault. And Loki, you owe me a favor, remember? So you can’t kill me either.” He looked around the room. “Pizza and beer for all, conference centre in ten? Okay?”

It was two thirty in the afternoon. But Nick Fury wisely had dematerialized again, which was the same thing as agreement in Tony’s book.

* * *

“Are you sure about this, Darcy?” Erik’s voice was serious.

“I’m not getting engaged, or something,” Darcy returned, “Don’t worry Erik, I’m sure.”

Loki ducked his head. “I swear to you, Erik Selvik, I will not harm her or allow harm to come to her.” 

Thor came to stand by his brother. “And I will stand surety. My brother may not always speak truth but he has never foresworn himself.”

Erik raised his eyebrows at that, and waved them both away. “Please, that is good enough. This is a lab not a stage. I am a simple man, I wish for no more drama today.”

As they left the lab Thor moved closer to Loki and spoke low. “Will you forgive me, brother, for reading your paper?” Loki looked at him and a sudden smile lit up his face. “Of course, brother. How could I not, in this time of joy? Turn around is fair play.”

* * *

There is no party like a Stark party, even one arranged only ten minutes in advance. The gang of four sat together, Tony, Pepper, Bruce and Natasha. Thor and Jane did not join them. In the intervals between congratulations they only had eyes for each other. And Tony could only surmise, smirking, about the other pair, who had whispered and kissed and vanished.

Tony cracked open the champagne and poured three glasses.

“To us!” he said, waving his glass. ‘“Stand aside Cupid, we are the only love-gods!”

“Hubris,” said Natasha, with a quirk of her eyebrow. Bruce nodded, his eyes suddenly somber. Pepper kissed Tony and took a glass. “We were lucky.” They all sat silent for a moment, thinking of what might have been, of the twists and turns of the past three months.

“True.” Tony paused and revised his toast.

“Then, to us! Cupid’s crack squad and damn lucky bastards.”

* * *

There is no party like a Stark party. It was therefore unsurprising that only two noticed when a Vogue model look-alike and Darcy, with a dufflebag over her shoulder, crept out through the service entrance.

“Good afternoon Darcy”, said JARVIS. “Going home early?”

“Hi  JARVIS”, said Darcy. “Just going for a little walk with my pal Lucy. She started here a couple of months ago.”

“So her retina scan should be on file. Or to be more precise, on file under that name.” stated JARVIS. He allowed the worried silence to stand for a minute. “Do you have any message for Mr Stark?”

“Thanks JARVIS, you’re the best! Tell him we’ll be back in a week. We’re off to see to see the sun rise.”

 “Very good. I estimate Mr Stark will have that message in approximately twelve hours.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while to get this title (as you probably noticed, they're all combat/war/military related). Then Loki stole the iPod and it came to me! 
> 
> You may note that Tony Stark has found a man for Darcy just as he promised in chapter 1, and fully fitting her list of requirements! (And the favor from Loki was chapter 2.)
> 
>  **Shakespeare Nerdery**  
>  Darcy's crack about burning her books echoes a similar one by Beatrice in Act 1 scene 1.  
> In the play, Hero is passed off as her own cousin to Claudio. Tony isn't planning to get that theatrical.  
> Thor's speech hits many of the same notes as Claudio's eulogy to Hero in Act 5 scene 3.  
> The major similarity is Loki and Darcy (after Frigga intervenes). I've marked the dialogue which is mostly or completely Shakespeare with '".  
> The only other bit of dialogue that echoes the play is Tony's toast at the end which echoes Don Pedro in Act 2 scene 1, where he gets the others to agree to the conspiracy.


	15. Epilogue

Heimdall sees all and he was smiling, his gaze fixed on distant Midgard. He whispered, though there was none there to hear him.

'“Come, come, we are friends: let's have a dance ere  
they are married, that we may lighten our own hearts  
and our wives' heels”.

He drew his sword, held it aloft, then brought the blade down flat against his forearm, held out level with his chest, as if in salute.

'“Strike up pipers!”

A blue light shone the length of his blade, then left it, shining straight and true to Midgard, a bolt of blue energy flying like an arrow from a bow.  It impacted with the earth’s upper atmosphere, and the Northern Lights awoke. Two days and nights they danced, the bright colors snaking in the northern sky, a beautiful counterpoint to the confusion of the scientists in Tromsø.

The colors shimmered over New York, barely visible in the glare of the city lights, but the Prince of Asgard and his betrothed delighted in them all the same. They caressed Canadian skies, flowed and shimmered across the Atlantic and as far south as the white cliffs on England’s southern shore. Over the Norwegian Sea the cloudless sky was alive, an intricate dance of red and greens and blues, advancing, retreating and circling against the stars. 

They danced reflected in Darcy's eyes, opened wide in wonder. They danced and Loki smiled and watched Darcy's face, long arms and legs wrapped around her. The lights danced for them, sitting on a high rock overlooking Sognefjorden, wrapped in a single blanket, waiting for the dawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final thank you to all who read, kudos'ed, bookmarked and commented. I'm thrilled at the reaction to my first ever story in this fandom. You're amazing! 
> 
> **The last Shakespeare nerdery**  
>  Heimdall's words are actually Benedick's lines, at the end of Act 5 scene 4. "Strike up pipers" are the very last lines in the play. If you feel inspired to read it, [MIT have a copy](http://shakespeare.mit.edu/much_ado/full.html).


End file.
